A ceremonial ribbon cutting on a picture-perfect South Florida evening officially marked the opening of Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida.
The state-of-the art, $430 million facility brings Baptist Health’s outpatient cancer services together under one roof to offer 305,000 square feet of world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. Its 140,000-square-foot research building will accommodate an extensive clinical trials team, genomic medicine laboratory and clinical space planned for bone marrow transplant – amongst other services. Construction of the facility began in 2014.
The evening’s other big announcement, the clinical and research alliance with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, one of the leading academic cancer centers in the world. As a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance, the Institute will afford patients access to highly advanced clinical trials, clinical standards of care and investigator-initiated research.
[Transcript]
[Miami Cancer Institute Grand Opening]
Michael J. Zinner, M.D.:
Three, two, one. Cut.
Michael J. Zinner, M.D.:
We're really thrilled in South Florida to change the course of cancer care here because we're going to have the only facility in North America that has every piece of high technology equipment under one roof.
Brian E. Keeley:
There's so many people leaving South Florida for access to proton therapy, for bone marrow transplants, or what have you. We said, "You know something, we ought to be building a center that they don't have to leave South Florida."
Wayne Brackin:
There are people I think walking around right now who due to the existence of this will have a much more of a fighting chance for a cure, to be healed, for survival that they don't have today.
Craig Thompson, M.D.:
We are thrilled to be here for Memorial Sloan Kettering. This is a great night for Miami. The opening of the Miami Cancer Institute really brings really high quality cancer care here to the Miami area. And so we're thrilled to be a partner in that.
José Baselga, M.D., Ph.D.:
It's a great day. Very important. Memorial Sloan Kettering is coming together with Miami Cancer Institute.
[Pictures being taken of Founders and CEO’s of Miami Cancer Institute]
S. Lawrence Kahn III:
I know a lot of people, myself included, who had to go elsewhere for treatment for a long time, and to be able to do this quality right here in our community, makes a big, big difference.
[Baptist Health South Florida]
[End Transcript]
