Pa. Cancer Center To Break Ground

EAST NORRITON, Pa. — Mercy Suburban Hospital will break ground this summer on an outpatient cancer treatment facility next to the main hospital building on DeKalb Pike.
 
The $8 million, 12,500-square-foot facility will be located on the Germantown Pike side of the hospital building near the helipad and will include eight chemotherapy treatment stations and a linear accelerator for radiation therapy.
 
It will also feature an image-guided linear accelerator with RapidArc technology, eight chemotherapy suites, a high-dose radiation suite, an appearance center, genetics counseling, multi-disciplinary clinics, additional exam and treatment rooms, a family cancer resource center with online capabilities, a high-tech conference center and a healing garden.
 
The cancer treatment center will bring the Mercy Suburban Cancer Center, located in Norristown, to the hospital. The center will have a dedicated entrance and parking for patients, physicians and staff and will be located adjacent to the hospital’s imaging department.
 
The East Norriton Planning Commission reviewed the plans and recommended approval in a unanimous vote on Jan. 19. The Board of Supervisors will consider the land development application at its March 22 meeting.
 
Township officials asked Mercy Suburban officials to install emergency preemption devices on the traffic lights at the Dekalb Pike entrance driveway into the hospital and at DeKalb Pike in front of the Jefferson Crossing development to speed emergency vehicle traffic.
 
The new facility is expected to generate traffic congestion during the evening commute according to a traffic study.
 
The center is expected to open in spring 2012.