The center will include two infusion stations to provide chemotherapy services for patients who now must travel to larger, regional centers for that treatment, as well as to receive care from an oncologist.

“We’ve had oncology services here before, but it’s been 20 years,” said Candie Thompson, director of Nursing at SMP Health-St. Aloisius Medical Center in Harvey. “The reason we stopped was because the pharmacy regulations changed so dramatically that we could not meet the compliance.”

St. Aloisius found itself in a position to bring oncology services back after hiring pharmacist Brianne Sattler and certifying the hospital for participation in the federal 340B drug discount program.

“The key is the 340B program, allowing us to purchase the medications at a discounted rate,” said President/CEO Ryan Mickelsen at St. Aloisius. “We won’t have the volume to generate the revenue to offset it without the decreased cost of the medications. That’s really what allowed us to do this now.”

Brianne Sattler

Additionally, the medical center received a state Rural Catalyst Grant of $500,000 to help with construction costs related to renovating an area within the hospital. The grant is a 50/50 matching grant.

St. Aloisius was preparing at the end of March to seek bids on the estimated $750,000 construction project. A new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system also is needed, putting the total project cost estimate at around $1 million.

Eide Bailly conducted a review to determine the feasibility of an oncology program in the Harvey area.

“From that,” Mickelsen said, “you can find that there is enough demand for the service to make it a long-term sustainable project.”

Mickelsen said the community has shown excitement about the new center, which has been the subject of planning for about a year.

Ryan Mickelsen

The program took a step forward with the hiring of a nurse who recently moved to the area, bringing about five years of experience in oncology services. The nurse will begin once the center opens in August.

St. Aloisius also has been seeking a pharmacy tech to assist Sattler, who is trained in preparing infusion medications.

Medication preparation must be handled carefully, which requires a “hood room” with appropriate ventilation. Mickelsen said about $350,000 of the construction cost relates to creating the room and acquiring the hood necessary to ensure medications are handled safely.

Patients would be referred through primary care providers to an oncologist who will be working with the program. Mickelsen said the oncologist will be providing services at St. Aloisius once a week, or every other week as the program gets started. That care also will begin in August through a contract with an independent provider.

“Our plan is to grow it slowly – one or two patients at a time to make sure that we can provide the service locally and safely,” Mickelsen said. “As it grows, we’ll continue to grow our staffing to accommodate.”

Ryan Mickelsen

Thompson said staff cross-training would start soon after the center opens to ensure two in-house nurses are certified for the program.