RIPLEY, W.Va. — WVU Medicine Jackson General Hospital hopes to have a new cancer center up and running in the next 18 months.
The “Building Hope” project was announced Thursday at the hospital in Ripley.
WVU Medicine Jackson General Hospital CEO Candace Miller told WMOV Radio they’ll be offering services that most cancer patients need.
“We are focusing on infusion services and chemo to start. We know those are the high-volume, high-touch treatments that pull patients away for many days in a row, so we want to be able to deliver that here close to home,” Miller said.
Hospital Board Chairman Rob Fisher said they originally thought they would have to wait until 2028 to begin the project but that was before a generous $2.5 million gift from the estate of Margaret Lynn Starcher.
“We were able to go ahead and put a plan together and request the rest of the money from WVU Medicine so we could go ahead and start in 2025–so we are already starting,” Fisher told WMOV.
Miller said she expects the project to move quickly.
“We know a 12-month time frame is a very advantageous time frame but I think in 12 to 18 months we’ll be up and operational,” Miller said.
The cancer center will work directly with the WVU Cancer Institute. Fisher said there’s an opportunity to serve the region.
“We’re going to be right here in Ripley but we want to serve this region including Mason County, Wirt County, Roane County, Jackson County, Kanawha County. We want to serve everyone around us,” Fisher said.
Director of Pharmacy Chad Foreman said the desire of WVU Medicine is to provide cancer care closer to home so patients don’t have the added burden of travel.
“So it’s going to be very comprehensive in the amount of services we provide,” Foreman said.