Cancer care treatment options now available in new satellite clinic at ESHC
Some cancer patients in Essex County won't have to travel all the way to Windsor in the future to receive treatments.
An Oncology and Outpatient clinic was unveiled Wednesday at Erie Shores HealthCare in Leamington, which will serve as a satellite clinic aligned with the Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program.
The level four satellite clinic will provide chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments for certain cancers including breast, lung, skin, gastrointestinal and urinary.
Kingsville resident John Loncke began receiving treatments in the satellite clinic earlier this summer after spending the last three years travelling to the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre to receive care for his bladder cancer.
"Between travel time and treatment time, it was basically taking half a day," he says. "So to have the option to come to Erie Shores, which is 20 minutes from my home, is a real option for me. It saves me time, I can play golf in the morning and be here in the afternoon for my treatments."
Patient eligibility for the clinic will be determined through collaborative discussions with oncologists, ensuring treatments are administered at the optimal location according to individual medical considerations and preferences.
Kristin Kennedy, president and chief executive officer of Erie Shores HealthCare in Leamington. Sept. 13, 2023 (Photo: Rusty Thomson)
Kristin Kennedy, President and chief executive officer of ESHC, says the clinic will be open Tuesday to Friday and will be seeing five patients a day to start.
"I think as we enhance the nursing staff here, we have the opportunity to do 10, 15, 20 patients a day here in the organization as we build," he says. "We're hopeful we can move that forward and even offer from extended services as well."
Jonathan Foster, Regional vice-president for the Erie St. Clair Regional Cancer Program, says cancer is growing in the community and across the province, so in order to treat people in a timely manner, we need satellite clinics like this to provide care where patients live.
"We're doing well with our wait times overall for cancer in our region, across all of our satellite locations, but this helps us stay ahead of the curve. We know that incidents are going up and we don't want to fall behind. By opening a centre like this, it ensures that people will continue to have timely access to care," he says.
The clinic has three full-time staff with some part-time and casual staff to support the service.
Erie Shores HealthCare is located at 194 Talbot St. W. in Leamington.