HAMILTON: Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott met with staff at Hamilton Health Sciences’ Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre to formally mark the recent opening of the expanded Ron and Nancy Clark Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies Unit.
“Our government made an unbreakable commitment to put an end to hallway healthcare, and today we are celebrating the new expansion of the Ron and Nancy Clark Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapies Unit,” said Premier Doug Ford.
“With this expansion, more patients will be able to access world-class cancer care closer to home. They can get the treatment they need…where and when they need it.”
In 2019, the Ontario government announced an investment of over $25 million to modernize and expand the stem cell transplant unit at Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre, one of three world-class hospitals offering all forms of stem cell transplants to adult patients in Ontario.
With increased capacity and innovative treatment for blood cancer patients, the new unit will also help address wait times for procedures, which will support Ontario’s surgical recovery plan.
The Ron and Nancy Clark Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies Unit builds on Hamilton Health Sciences’ expertise in blood cancer treatment with modern, expanded facilities and state-of-the-art technology to provide improved access to lifesaving stem cell transplant and other blood cancer treatments.
With the province’s investment in this project, patients across Ontario will have better access to high-quality care closer to home and benefit from:
• state-of-the-art design;
• 15 new inpatient beds that will support care for more than 75 additional patients per year;
• five new treatment bays for day patients, bringing the total number of treatment bays to 35;
• two lounge areas
• expanded laboratory and pharmacy space.
Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health said: “The expansion of the stem cell unit at Hamilton Health Sciences will ensure even more patients have access to lifesaving treatment, closer to home.”
Working closely with Hamilton Health Sciences, the expansion was completed during and despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital welcomed its first patients to the new unit in November 2020 and by March 2021 completed over 122 stem cell transplants thanks to hard work and dedication of staff, physicians and frontline health care workers at Hamilton Health Sciences. The new unit will continue to support the efforts of this exceptional team to deliver highquality care.
Dr. Ralph Meyer, Vice-President of Oncology and Palliative Care at Hamilton Health Sciences, and Regional Vice-President of Cancer Care Ontario, said: “With this additional capacity, Hamilton Health Sciences staff and physicians will continue to build on more than 50 years of pioneering treatment, research and innovation in this specialty area of care. Expanding the reach of the program and its clinical expertise is tremendous news for patients across Ontario.”
• A stem cell transplant is a procedure that replaces defective or damaged cells in patients whose normal cells have been affected by lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma and other cancers and disorders affecting the blood. The first successful stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor in Canadian history took place in Hamilton.