Henry Ford cancer center aims to spur economic growth
As part of a larger effort to foster economic growth in Detroit, Henry Ford Health System plans to build a $110 million comprehensive cancer facility in the city, expected to open in the summer of 2018.
Groundbreaking for the five-story, 144,000-square-foot cancer center is anticipated in the spring of 2016 as part of the health system’s larger $500 million expansion effort. In addition to the treatment center, Henry Ford plans to develop commercial real estate, homes and dedicated green space over the next ten years on 300 acres in Detroit.
“I think (this cancer center) will really be a tipping point for others to venture in and partner with us on commercial development,” said Nancy Schlichting, Henry Ford’s CEO. The facility will be less than three miles from the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, the only center in Michigan currently dedicated to cancer treatment.
Schlichting added that, since cancer patients often receive longterm care, they and their families will likely stay in the area for awhile. The number of cancer patients treated at Henry Ford has increased by 31% since 2007, and more people are seeking cancer treatment as the state’s population ages, she said.
The new cancer center is also envisioned as a way to consolidate specialty cancer treatment under one roof, Schlichting said. Cancer treatment is currently dispersed across the system’s flagship Henry Ford Hospital, but in the new center, which will be connected to the hospital by a skywalk, each floor will focus on the treatment of a specific cancer.