Lancaster General Health is planning a major expansion of its Suburban Outpatient Pavilion, a $38 million cancer center to be named for local philanthropist Ann B. Barshinger.

The two-story, 70,000-square-foot facility will be integrated with the LGH Radiation Oncology Department off Spring Valley Road in East Hempfield Township, facing Route 30. And the design of the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Center is intended to look futuristic, airy, open — and above all, healing.

LGH officials hope to break ground for the facility next summer, and say it could open as soon as autumn 2012.

Though the capital fund-raising campaign that will help finance the center has not yet officially begun, Ann Barshinger has pledged $5 million to the project. In an interview last week, she noted that while the disease has not touched her family, "I've had friends whose husbands have been ill, who've had to get up in the middle of the night and drive them back to Johns Hopkins" or other major regional cancer centers.

"How scary it is for them, and how wonderful it will be to have this right here in Lancaster."

Dr. Randall Oyer, medical director, oncology, Lancaster General Health, said, "Our vision is that we will be able to provide 95 percent of the care for 95 percent of our community."

"We see incidents of cancer rising in our population," Oyer said. "And the complexity of care has become so great that it can no longer be done by individual physicians; it can only be done at the organizational level.

"Many of the services at the cancer center are already available in the community, but in a fragmented way," Oyer said. With medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists and other cancer specialists all brought together under one roof, "it will be more efficient."

All care at the new cancer center will be outpatient, with the new structure connected to the Suburban Outpatient Pavilion.

No plans have yet been submitted to East Hempfield Township. That could occur in a few weeks, after the results of a feasibility study to determine whether a projected $14 million capital campaign to raise funds for the project would be successful are presented to the Lancaster General Health Foundation Board of Directors.

Barshinger's commitment will help seal the deal, said Jay Bucher, president of the Lancaster General Health Foundation.

"This will be the largest capital campaign we've ever had," Bucher said. "We're very pleased with Ann stepping up to the plate."

Bucher said the economy may impact fundraising efforts, but the purpose of the new facility provides an advantage: Even in tough times, donors remain relatively generous when it comes to funding cancer centers.

"It's a highly emotional subject, and that can help offset economic issues."

LGH officials say the remaining $24 million will be financed using health system reserves and other funding. "Our finance committee is exploring options," said Jan Bergen, LGH executive vice president.

'Green' building
The cancer center will be designed to be one of the most environmentally friendly structures ever built by LGH. A sloped roof will capture rainwater for outdoor gardens; wet and dry steam beds will filter runoff from the parking lots. Natural light and green space will abound; this, Bergen said, will be both environmentally sound — and help in the healing process for both those with cancer and their families.

"The idea is to reduce the burden of suffering," Bergen said. Flowers beds and a meditation area will offer quiet spaces "for people dealing with a crisis in their lives."

The semicircular exterior of the new facility will face Spring Valley Road and be visible from Route 30. The architect for the project is Ballenger, a firm based in Philadelphia.

LGH officials say they expect the cancer center will result in the creation of new jobs, though they didn't specify a number. Oyer said it will also spur the purchase of a significant amount of new, high-tech equipment. "We hope this will give us a regional presence and attract new physicians and new staff," he said.

"Nurse navigators" will act as liaisons between patients and health-care providers, helping to coordinate care and provide education and resources. Support groups, rehabilitation services, wellness programs and more will be available.

LGH is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Network, and will draw on Penn's expertise in developing the new facility. "We get to bounce ideas off them," said Susan Sample, LGH's director of oncology and cardio programs. "And there will be some types of rare cancers that we might see one a year, and might not have anyone" with the expertise to handle the case. "But Penn might be a hub for that, and [the patient] would still be able to receive supportive services here."

The Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Center represents yet another addition to the booming medical corridor situated between Rohrerstown Road and Good Drive in East Hempfield Township. It joins numerous other medical facilities on what used to be called the "health campus," including Women & Babies Hospital, the Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital and the Physicians' Surgery Center.

LGH officials have been talking about the idea for three to four years, Bergen said. Barshinger's commitment, before the capital campaign even kicks off, will go a long way toward turning the health system's vision into reality.

Mrs. Barshinger and her late husband, Richard, have been philanthropic supporters of of a number of Lancaster County organizations, chief among them Franklin & Marshall College; in 2004 she donated $10 million to the school to help build the Ann & Richard Barshinger Life Sciences & Philosophy Building.

This is her first gift to Lancaster General Hospital, she said.

"I live in Willow Valley," Barshinger said, explaining her philanthropy. "I see hearses there quite often.

"And I've never seen one with a U-Haul behind it."