Patients receiving sometimes hours-long treatment at the future Geisinger Dickson City Cancer Center will have beautiful views of Northeast Pennsylvania’s mountains through glass walls in the infusion bays.
“It's a difficult journey that patients have to take,” said Dr. Rajiv Panikkar, the chair of Geisinger’s cancer institute. “Trying to make things convenient and trying to make things as calm and peaceful as it can be as they're confronting the difficult challenges of cancer and its treatment.”
Geisinger’s vision for the future of regional cancer care incorporates Lackawanna County’s natural beauty with excellent treatment that could be found in major cities. That vision is soon to be reality. The new Dickson City Cancer Center is slated to see its first patient on June 23, 2025.
By using nature to soothe patients during what is often a challenging time, Geisinger hopes to focus on patients’ mental wellbeing in addition to their physical health.
Steve Hill, Geisinger’s senior project manager, added that the natural light will be helpful to the doctors working long hours.
“From a wellness standpoint, we're introducing natural light into the building for the physicians,” he said.
Geisinger Health System officials say that roughly 20% of cancer patients leave Lackawanna County for treatment. The need for cancer care in Lackawanna County is estimated to grow by 3.2% through 2026 because the 65+ population is projected to grow by 12% by then, according to Geisinger.
While Geisinger already has a cancer institute, it is not united under one roof.
Space constraints at Geisinger Community Medical Center (GCMC) limited the ability to expand cancer programs there. Geisinger representatives say a standalone center was a better pathway to fulfilling community needs. This is mutually beneficial to the hospital in Scranton, which will now be able to explore other growth options.
The $58 million, 61,000 square- foot facility on Martin F. Gibbons Boulevard in Dickson City will complement the work of the Frank M. and Dorothea Henry Cancer Center in Wilkes-Barre, with more localized care for area residents.
New and expanded services will be available, including radiation oncology, a first for Geisinger in Lackawanna County.
“This allows us to bring the expertise of the Geisinger radiation oncology staff to Lackawanna County so that we can partner with medical oncology to provide that comprehensive cancer care,” said Lisa Keifer, the cancer institute's senior director of operations. “It'll be the latest and greatest technology within radiation oncology, so the patients in Lackawanna County can just come here for their treatments and then go home.”
At the new center, there will be 17 hematology and oncology exam rooms, almost tripling the amount currently offered at GCMC. There will also be 22 infusion bays, which is double what’s at GCMC. Three multi-disciplinary spaces will be available to offer better care coordination for patients who see multiple specialists, along with space for palliative care.
The center will also feature food and drink options, courtyard and gardens, allowing Geisinger to offer support for families and caregivers as they arrive at the center to support their loved ones through their diagnoses.
Having so many services under one roof saves families and caregivers from driving around to different locations for their loved one’s treatments.
Panikkar says Geisinger’s goal for both patients and their families is to make treatment simple for people.
On schedule
The June 2025 opening will come after about three years of construction. Geisinger broke ground back in summer 2022.
Hill said the project is around 50% done. Phase one, the steel phase, of construction is completed, and phase two has started. The construction team’s focus is getting the exterior weather proofed by winter.
Both Geisinger and Sordoni Construction Services, who are building the facility, are confident that the project will wrap up when expected.
“We've been blessed with great weather and work from a workforce standpoint,” Hill said. “There's a big workforce here that's dedicated to bringing this in that time frame we're looking for.”
Hill expressed gratitude for the team that understands the urgency of the project.
A home for future doctors
Geisinger will look to the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, its medical school in Scranton, to staff the cancer center. The opening of the cancer center also helps promote the medical school’s mission of reinforcing the physician workforce in the region by encouraging students to remain in the area and serve the community in which they were educated.
In preparation for the opening, a new palliative medicine fellowship program will begin next summer. Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for patients with serious illnesses and terminal diagnoses.
The hope is that the cancer center will offer even more of an incentive for Geisinger’s locally educated doctors to stay in the area.
“Our hope is that we'll be bringing young doctors to the area to train here, to learn about the care that we give to the patients that live in our environment and inspire them to stay here and continue to care for patients,” Panikkar said. “I think when you show the vision about where you can be and what you can do and the ability to deliver complex care in the community, coordinated well, I think that's one of our overarching goals of what we're trying to do with our program.”
