Cancer centers celebrate one year and 100,000 patient visits

The Mary and Dick Heimann Cancer Center in Medford and the Helen K. Spears Cancer Center in Grants Pass celebrated their one-year anniversary on Jan. 17 with cake, balloons, posters and astonishment over how this milestone came so quickly.

“We’ve seen more than 100,000 patient visits since we opened, visits that would’ve spanned more than a dozen locations before,” said Brian Murphy, administrative director of the two centers. “It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.”

The 80,160-square-foot Heimann broke ground in February 2020 and cost $64 million to build. At 3011 E. Barnett Road, the center was made possible by a $5 million gift from the Heimanns to Asante Foundation, the largest donation in Asante’s history at the time.

Expansion of the Spears center on the Asante Three Rivers campus broke ground soon afterward, adding 24,000 square feet at a cost of $15.2 million.

Both centers brought lab, imaging, pharmacy, infusion, radiation oncology and hematology oncology clinics into one building for the first time in Southern Oregon, saving patients countless hours and miles on their odometers.

“I’m so proud of our teams and the compassionate care they provide our patients,” said Wendy Vaughn, clinical director. “They go above and beyond to help them, not only with their care but the everyday problems that can come up when a cancer diagnosis upends a person’s life.”