St. Charles Health System plans to build a $90 million cancer treatment center south of the Redmond hospital in a currently empty lot near the corner of Canal Boulevard and Kingwood Avenue.

St. Charles Health System will build a $90 million cancer treatment center in Redmond, offering services similar to those offered down the highway in Bend.

The new center is planned for the corner of Canal Boulevard and Kingwood Avenue, currently an empty lot owned by St. Charles. While still in the planning stages, the cancer center portion of the building is likely to be roughly 30,000 square feet in size and current plans call for a three-story building — the same as the current Redmond hospital across the street.

Construction could begin by the end of the year with hopes that the center would be operating in 2025, said Kayley Mendenhall, St. Charles Health System communications and marketing director. The proposed facility will include equipment for radiation oncology, chemotherapy treatments, nutrition, massage and acupuncture and more, according to the health system. There will also be meeting spaces for cancer support groups, none of which currently meet in Redmond due to space limitations.

The goal is to create a one-stop-shop for patients suffering from cancer in Redmond, as well as patients in outlying areas of Prineville and Sisters and north to Madras. The hospital system estimates 40% of its Bend cancer center patients drive from those areas to Bend. That can be both time consuming and painful for people suffering from cancer and the effects of radiation treatment. Some must make the 50 mile round-trip drive every day.

“We know that many of our patients travel farther than patients at other cancer centers in the country for their care,” said Dr. Linyee Chang, St. Charles Cancer Center medical director, in a prepared statement. “Some patients opt out of treatment because of the travel and that’s not ok.”

Chang said St. Charles has planned for the Redmond cancer center since 2018 — a plan that was put on the sideline during the pandemic.

“We’re getting back to that plan now,” Chang told the Spokesman.

Mari Chay, chief nursing officer for ambulatory care at St. Charles, said there would likely be 12-13 medical oncology professionals working in the Redmond center, though some could work both in Redmond and in Bend, so its unknown how many new jobs would be created.

With about 4,500 current employees, St. Charles, is among the largest employers in Central Oregon.

The major new addition to the new center is radiation treatment, which is not currently offered in Redmond. Building such a facility is one of the most complicated and precise parts of the proposed construction. According to Chay, physicists are needed to study design plans and there are stringent requirements for the amount of concrete and lead needed to surround the linear accelerator and the two vaults.

Currently at St. Charles Redmond, there are seven exam rooms and 14 infusion chairs, where patients sit to get chemotherapy treatments.

The new facility will boost that to at least 26 infusion chairs.

Both Chang and Shay said staffing the new center will be crucial, but both noted that recruiting for the new positions is doable.