ZION — Community and industry leaders celebrated the grand opening of a new surgical suite at Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center with CTCA executives, stakeholders and patients Dec. 21 in Zion, Illinois.

With the addition of a 25,000 square-foot surgical center, CTCA at Midwestern will continue to provide powerful and innovative surgical therapy to those fighting cancer.

In keeping with Cancer Treatment Centers of America tradition, the ribbon was cut by CTCA at Midwestern patient Ken Priest, originally of Winnetka, following a blessing lead by Reverend Percy McCray, Jr., director of pastoral care at CTCA at Midwestern. 

"CTCA at Midwestern patients like Ken enrich our lives with their strength and with each journey they invite us to travel with them," McCray said.  "The surgical suite is about meeting their needs."

Also addressing guests were Anne Meisner, chief executive officer at CTCA at Midwestern; Scott Jones, chief operating officer at CTCA at Midwestern; and special guest Lloyd DeTienne, commissioner of public health and safety for the city of Zion. 

"This expansion is an investment into caring for our patients," Meisner said.  "Surgical oncology at CTCA at Midwestern brings compassion and innovation together in breakthrough procedures like Intraoperative Radiation Therapy and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy that support the whole person and improved quality of life while treating advanced-stage cancer."

On behalf of the city of Zion, Commissioner DeTienne shared with guests, "The City Council of the city of Zion extends to CTCA at Midwestern Regional Medical Center its humble expression of esteem and sincere congratulations on the completion and dedication of this state of the art surgical suite.  The Zion community is proud to recognize this remarkable accomplishment and wishes great success and prosperity as CTCA addresses the challenges of the future and willfully persists in meeting the needs of patients, not only in Zion but from coast to coast."

The surgical suite at CTCA at Midwestern includes four operating rooms, five post-anesthesia care units and eight private Same Day Admit rooms.  Operating rooms are integrated with state of the art equipment and all pre- and post-operative areas offer privacy and space for family.  The PACU area also includes one isolation bay and the surgical suite is also equipped with touchpad lighting and laparoscopic systems. 

"While today we commemorate the completion of months of collaborative planning and execution, we also celebrate the start of a new age of innovation at CTCA at Midwestern," Jones said. "The CTCA at Midwestern mission is to never stop searching for new ways to meet the needs of our patients—with the opening of the surgical suite, not only can we serve more patients, but more importantly, we can continue to improve patient care and provide more hope to patients choosing Cancer Treatment Centers of America."

For more information about CTCA at Midwestern or Cancer Treatment Centers of America, please visit www.cancercenter.com.