UofL Health is expanding its Brown Cancer Center and building a new $25-million facility in Bullitt County.
The new facility, located along the I-65 corridor on the UofL Health – South Hospital campus, will be used as a regional cancer center and a Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research.
Offering Comprehensive Care
Initial plans include space for 20 infusion rooms, five exam rooms, oncology pharmacy and a diagnostic imaging suite.
Currently, there are no comprehensive cancer centers outside of Lexington and Louisville that offer multidisciplinary subspecialist care, clinical trials, access to state-of-the-art screening, and educational and support programs for cancer patients.
Leaders with UofL Health say the new facility will increase access to comprehensive cancer care in south, central and western Kentucky.
“I want to thank our state leaders for recognizing the importance of investing to improve access to innovative cancer care, education and research,” said Dr. Kim Schatzel, University of Louisville President. “Building this new regional site for our Brown Cancer Center extends opportunities to benefit from our expertise, research and innovative clinical trials. Kentuckians, particularly in our rural counties and mid-sized cities, need better access to those resources.”
For many years the Brown Cancer Center has seen patients from across the state.
In the last year alone, the Brown Cancer Center’s oncologists saw patients from nearly every Kentucky county, including more than 15,000 outpatient encounters from south, central and western Kentucky.
“Improving access to health care is our steadfast commitment to the commonwealth, especially in areas that are underserved,” said Tom Miller, UofL Health CEO. “I applaud our elected leaders for working with us to reduce barriers to cancer care for patients in our more rural communities.”
Innovative Treatment Options
The new cancer center will serve as a network base for clinical trials, enhanced nursing/physician educational programs, cancer screening and outreach with partnering oncologists throughout the region.
These academic pursuits will be integrated with the Brown Cancer Center’s comprehensive and multidisciplinary programs.
The innovative and highly effective treatment options offered at the Brown Cancer Center are often not available at any other cancer centers in the region.
“The Brown Cancer Center has one unifying mission: To make cancer a disease of the past,” said Jason Chesney, M.D., Ph.D., director and chief administration officer of the Brown Cancer Center. “We are getting closer to that goal and this new regional cancer center brings cutting-edge cancer care and lifesaving clinical trials closer to more Kentuckians.”
The educational space will include a lecture hall, video conferencing space and conference rooms; training for oncology nurses and physicians in clinics; and offer rotations with community oncologists from south central and western Kentucky.
A research laboratory for specimen processing and research space for data collection will support cancer clinical trials and translational research.
A patient wellness center, in collaboration with the Kentucky Cancer Program, and a cancer screening program connecting primary care providers to innovative screening technologies will provide additional cancer outreach and education to south, central and western Kentucky.
Final design work is underway and a groundbreaking is expected in the next 12 months.
The anticipated opening will be in early 2026.
For more information on UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center visit, UofLHealth.org/BCC.
