The Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Center at Truman Medical Centers Opens

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Center at Truman Medical Centers opened for patient care on Monday, February 24, 2014. In June of last year, Truman Medical Centers (TMC) announced the $2.3 million gift by the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation creating the first cancer care center in Kansas City, Mo, to bear the family's name.

"There is definitely something special about Truman – the care, the staff, the dedication, this is what makes a great hospital. I am so proud of TMC and we are fortunate to have a hospital of this quality in the Kansas City area," Annette Bloch said. "The new cancer center is so beautiful and so advanced. Our patients are so deserving of this new facility and all the hope and promise that will come from it."

The Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Center at TMC focuses on state-of-the-art quality care, comfort, safety and providing a healing environment for patients and their families. At nearly 17,000 sq ft, the new cancer center is more than triple the size of the previous unit at TMC.

"The new area is such a calming, peaceful environment with just the right amount of natural light and open space, yet you still have that interaction with staff and other patients," said Norma Steve of Kansas City, who has been an oncology patient since October 2013. "It just doesn't feel like you are actually in a hospital."

The new center features a comforting welcome area, ten dedicated clinical exam rooms and a procedure room along with 16 chemotherapy infusion rooms equipped with recliners and individual TV/entertainment centers for patients. The spacious new center, with spectacular views of downtown Kansas City, is located on the fifth floor of the TMC Hospital Hill Center Building, across from the main hospital on Holmes Street.

"The opening of the new cancer center is another in a long-line of examples of the Bloch family's dedication to improving and expanding the quality, not just of cancer care, but all of healthcare in the Kansas City area," said TMC President/CEO John W. Bluford. "TMC's goal is to provide our community with the best healthcare, in the best environment, with the best clinicians and positive outcomes possible and this new center delivers on that goal to our patients."

Dedicated to the convenience of patients, the center also has an on-site pharmacy with specially trained oncological pharmacists, patient navigator staff available for consultations, education and a social worker to help address patients' ongoing medical and home-life needs. A special "boutique" is available that provides consultations and private fittings for wigs and prosthetics for patients during advanced cancer treatment.

"Truman Medical Centers is an active partner and collaborator with KU Cancer Center's Midwest Cancer Alliance (MCA), and the opening of their new Bloch Canter Center is a shining example of how this city is constantly working for the benefit of our community," said Roy Jensen, MD, director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center.

This relationship with the MCA has resulted in a regional, advanced collaborative approach to research. Specifically, through expanded enrollment capacity, TMC patients have increased access to MCA sponsored clinical trials through the KU Cancer Center and in turn, the trials' research has benefited from expanded demographics including patients with co-morbidities and/or socioeconomic disparities.

"The center provides our patients with the environment of care and comfort they so deserve and need while battling cancer," said Jill Moormeier, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Oncology/Hematology. "The Bloch Cancer Center is also a perfect example of the continued efforts of the Midwest Cancer Alliance partners to strengthen care, advance research, conduct clinical trials and ultimately find cures."

The $6 million cancer center expansion was funded entirely by philanthropic support. In addition to the generous gift of the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation, major donors included the Hall Family Foundation and the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation. A special grand opening special event with donors, supporters, local officials will take place in May when Mrs. Bloch returns to the Kansas City area.

About TMC
Truman Medical Centers is a not-for-profit, two acute-care hospital health system in Kansas City.

The TMC Health System includes TMC Hospital Hill, TMC Lakewood, TMC Behavioral Health, the Jackson County Health Department and a number of primary care practices throughout Eastern Jackson County. TMC is the primary teaching hospital for the University of Missouri-Kansas City Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and Pharmacy and specializes in Chronic Disease Management, high risk pregnancies, orthopaedics, trauma services, and women's health. For more information, please call (816) 404-3785 or visit at www.trumed.org, on Twitter or on Facebook.

For More Information, contact:

Shane Kovac, Media Relations Manager, (816)404-3786

SOURCE Truman Medical Centers