Community Hospital breaks ground on new oncology center

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Community Hospital broke ground on the James Pulsipher Regional Cancer Center and medical office building Wednesday morning.

The idea for this project began eight years ago and has remained in the planning stages for the last few years. Chris Thomas, President and CEO for Community Hospital states, “We have been in the planning process for a couple of years and we are thrilled to finally begin construction on this project. Grand Valley Oncology is one of our fastest growing service lines.”

Community Hospital is a Level III Trauma Center offering full outpatient diagnostic services and inpatient care for the Western Slope region of Colorado and eastern Utah. Community Hospital’s Grand Valley Oncology is one of the largest cancer centers in the area, offering a full range of cancer treatment options including medical and radiation oncology, gynecological oncology, genetic counseling, social services, clinical trials, and a survivorship program.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve cancer patients in our community for the past 30 years”, said JoAnne Virgilio, DO, Medical Oncologist at Community Hospital’s Grand Valley Oncology. “Building the new regional cancer center has been a dream of ours since joining Community Hospital in 2014. Our oncology team is extremely humbled by the overwhelming support of our community. To see this project finally come to fruition is very exciting and we look forward to serving cancer patients in the Grand Valley and surrounding areas for many more years to come,” added Dr. Virgilio.

The new addition is expected to take 21 to 22 months to complete and will be around 130,000 square feet.

Board members of Community Hospital stated with the growth of not only the hospital but the Grand Valley, the need for additional space is necessary in order to better support the health care needs of western Colorado and eastern Utah.

“We are extremely proud of this project,” said Thomas. “This project is our hospital’s commitment to our partners to build a state-of-the-art regional cancer center and continue to develop our highly sought after cancer treatment program with the best possible medical and radiation oncologists in the region.”

For more information, please visit yourcommunityhospital.com.

Copyright 2021 KKCO. All rights reserved.