The $70 million cancer center proposed by Dignity Health and going up in Redding will open on Sept. 1, according to backers of the cancer treatment campus that’s expected to be a regional health care draw.
Jennifer Reynolds, director of oncology services at Mercy Medical Center Redding, said the outpatient oncology center will have three permanent providers on staff and a fourth will join when the center opens to patients. “Yes, we are actively recruiting providers” to staff the facility, which has been named the Sierra Pacific Regional Cancer Center, she said.
Robert Folden, VP and COO Administration for the Dignity Health Mercy Medical Center Redding hospital, said the center is built for seven oncology providers, two radiation oncologists and contains separate clinic space for sub-specialty care.
While construction of the center is expected to be completed soon, the facility will open later to allow time to certify equipment, said an official with Dignity Health’s nonprofit owner, CommonSpirit Health.
As of April, Level 1 of the building — housing the lab, radiology, radiation oncology, and retail pharmacy — were receiving finishing touches of trimming and flooring. A state-of-the-art infusion room and provider offices was taking shape on Level 2.Outside, on May 20, work progressed on sidewalks, landscaping and exterior fencing.
The project first came before the city in August 2017 and was approved after repeated delays spurred by local labor groups that demanded an environmental impact report be done. Eventually, the city of Redding agreed to the group’s demands and conducted an EIR on the project.The City Council approved the project in June 2020, three months after the world was essentially shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dignity officials said at a press conference in 2024 that the facility’s name is a tribute to the Emmerson Family’s support of cancer-related causes in the North State. Mercy Foundation North launched its fundraising campaign for the cancer center and the lead gift of $3 million came from Sierra Pacific Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Anderson-based timber giant.
Sierra Pacific Industries co-founder Archie Aldis “Red” Emmerson was present at the 2024 press conference announcing the facility’s name.
Jake Mangas, president of Mercy Foundation North, said the foundation ultimately raised $11.5 million for the project.
The cancer center is being constructed on property south of the Cypress Avenue Bridge on Sacramento River-front property behind the Cobblestone Shopping Center and just north of the Nur Pon Open Space, formerly known as the Henderson Open Space.
Sierra Pacific said having many cancer treatment services at the center and under one roof will be “a game changer.”
The cancer center has evolved from its original concept for a sizeable project that would have included administrative offices, diagnostic imaging, family medicine and pediatrics, orthopedics, a pharmacy, physical therapy, physician offices and women’s health and wellness areas.
However, Mercy Medical Center Redding President Todd Smith told the Record Searchlight that Dignity was already offering many of the services in a wellness campus throughout the community.
“And then we kind of reevaluated what we were doing down there and came to the realization pretty quickly that we have cancer care at multiple sites and to pull that together and really focus on the community need, and the patients getting all those services in one building really made a lot more sense,” Smith said then.
The current regional cancer center will be 45,000- to 50,000-square feet, about one-third the size of the health campus that was originally planned.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, dining and whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: $70M Redding cancer center near Cypress Avenue has opening date
Reporting by Michele Chandler and David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
