EMMC plans cancer center in Brewer Letter of intent filed to build $28 million outpatient facility

BANGOR – Eastern Maine Medical Center is planning to construct a $28 million cancer center in Brewer to accommodate a burgeoning demand for treatment of the disease in Maine.

EMMC filed a letter of intent Friday with the state Department of Health and Human Services as part of the proposal, one of 12 statewide vying for approval.

The planned 60,000-square-foot center would alleviate the ever-increasing volume of patients seeking treatment at EMMC’s CancerCare of Maine, the only full-service cancer center in northern and eastern Maine, CancerCare executive director Greg Fecteau said Wednesday.

“This year alone, our chemotherapy procedures have increased, year to date, 50.2 percent” over last year, he said. “Our waiting rooms are congested. We’re finding we’re having to put chairs in the hallways.”

The new outpatient center would be constructed next to the Cianchette Building in Brewer, which houses the corporate offices of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, Fecteau said. As the project is still in the planning phase, it’s too early to say whether the new center would replace or supplement the existing CancerCare facility, he said.

If approved, the center would open in approximately three years, Fecteau said. It would accommodate 30 chemotherapy stations, up from the existing 18, as well as exam and office space, he said.

Brewer City Manager Steve Bost said Wednesday, “We would be very pleased with the addition to the Cianchette complex. It would seem to be a good fit.”

Part of the Brewer location’s appeal is its accessibility and space for parking, Fecteau said. CancerCare of Maine staff daily see up to 250 patients whose visits range from 15 minutes to eight hours, but the facility has parking for only 27 people, Fecteau said.

The site is in close proximity to the planned Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health, a joint initiative among EMHS, the University of Maine in Orono, and Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, the letter of intent states.

The letter-of-intent process sets the stage for formal applications for Certificates of Need from the state.

State law requires hospitals to acquire the certificates from DHHS before expanding their facilities.

The review cycle begins in January when the various applications will compete for a pool of funds yet to be determined by the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance. The state then has until the end of May 2006 to decide on the applications.

The letters of intent filed by Friday’s deadline represent 12 proposals totaling nearly $300 million in capital construction costs, a significant jump over last year, health policy office Director Trish Riley said Tuesday. In 2004 the office approved approximately $76 million in capital construction costs for four projects, the only proposals to be submitted, she said.

The review process is designed to avoid redundancy among area hospitals and to minimize increases to health care costs, she said.

“Hopefully, it will get us where we need to be,” she said.

Riley used as an example of potential redundancy two requests for expansion from hospitals in Waterville. Inland Hospital is planning a $120 million project, while MaineGeneral Medical Center has proposed a $66 million plan to close its Seton Unit in Waterville and move its services and staff to an expanded Thayer Unit, also in Waterville.

Other letters of intent submitted last Friday include a $9.5 million critical care relocation at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, $34 million in renovations and expansion at Maine Medical Center in Portland, and a $26 million in-patient facility at York Hospital.

EMMC officials argue that their proposed cancer center would meet a need that will only continue to grow in coming years. The cancer rate in Maine is increasing with the state’s aging population and the improving longevity of cancer patients due to better diagnosis and changing treatment methods, their letter of intent states.

The demand already has forced CancerCare staff to remove a sign in their waiting room that encouraged patients to check with a receptionist if they had waited for more than 15 minutes, Fecteau said.

“We are really struggling with the volume that we’re managing here,” he said. “It’s a real challenge to meet the needs of our patients.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.