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SPECIAL FEATURE THE FOUNDATION OF CANCER TREATMENT CARE: By Jeanie Erwin They're designed to transform the way cancer care is provided and, in doing so, improve the patient and family experience. T HE CHANGES USHERED in with the July opening of the Via Christi Cancer Institute are much more than cosmetic. A Look at the New Via Christi Cancer Institute Information gleaned from focus groups with clinical staff, patients and their families was incorporated in virtually every aspect of the Via Christi Cancer Institute, located in completely renovated space on the seventh floor of Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis. Enlisting the firms GLMV Architecture Infusion therapy provides patients needed chemotherapy, blood transfusion and IV fluids. Left to right: Bassam Mattar, M.D., FACP; Claudio Ferraro, Executive Leader of Oncology Services for Via Christi Wichita hospitals; Jeff Korsmo, Via Christi CEO; and Sherry Hausmann, President of Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis, discuss the institute's bone marrow transplant program. and Hutton Construction, the space was gutted and completely reconstructed to provide a patient- and family-centered physical environment and the best, most efficient clinical care. The project was the logical next step for the Wichita hospital, having already established a foundation of clinical excellence and personal compassion in cancer care. Via Christi was the first, and continues to be the only, cancer center in the region accredited by the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer. It also was the first and is the only facility in Kansas accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy for stem cell transplant. Compassionate Design Oncology is a highly specialized medi- cal practice and often comes with negative or fearful connotations for patients and their families. Understanding this, the team at Via Christi set out to design a space that went beyond reflecting Via Christi's reputation as the region's most technologically advanced cancer treatment center, opting for a design that 8 | Greater Kansas MD NEWS MDNEWS.COM