Helen F. Graham Cancer Center Newark, Del.

PROJECT COST: $30 million

An expansion of Christiana Care Health System’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center in Newark, Del., will more than triple the hospital’s cancer-care space, providing more room for the breast center, chemotherapy infusion, gynecologic oncology and the Center for Translational Cancer Research.

“We will be able to place all cancer resources under one roof, making it easier and better for patients,” says Dr. Nicholas J. Petrelli, Bank of America endowed medical director of the cancer center.

Nason Construction of Philadelphia broke ground on the $30-million construction, 124,000-sq-ft, four-story addition in early 2008. The top floor will become the home of the research center and include 6,000 sq ft of laboratory space.

The new center is rising adjacent to the existing 60,000-sq-ft cancer center, which opened six years ago, and connects via a glass-enclosed walkway and a reflecting pool.

Patient visits have increased from 6,000 in 2003, the first year of operation, to 110,000 in 2007.

The addition is scheduled for completion later this year. At that time, Christiana will reconfigure the existing cancer center space into multidisciplinary disease-site centers and offices for care management, research, counseling, rehabilitation, palliative care and other services.

Key Players

Owner: Christiana Care Health System, Wilmington, Del.
Contractor: Nason Construction, Philadelphia
Architect: HKS, Dallas