More than 500 gather for grand opening of David Walsh Cancer Center
STERLING, Colo. (Sept. 9, 2010) - More than 500 residents from in and around Sterling, Colo., gathered Thursday morning, Sept. 9, for the official grand opening ceremony of the David Walsh Cancer Center on the Sterling Regional MedCenter campus.
The center was made possible by Sterling residents Frank and Gloria Walsh. In 2008, the Walshes announced they would donate $8.8 million to Sterling Regional MedCenter and the Banner Health Foundation to build the facility. The donation from the Walsh family is a memorial for their son, David, who died in 1998 after a battle with metastatic esophageal cancer.
Carlin Walsh, David’s youngest son and a grandson of Frank and Gloria Walsh, spoke on behalf of his family to those in attendance at Thursday’s ceremony. He shared how difficult the long-distance trips for treatment were for his father during David Walsh’s two-year battle with cancer. Carlin explained how this new cancer treatment center would allow cancer patients and their loved ones to stay close to home for their treatments. He also stressed the importance of encouraging young people to seek higher education so that in the future, they can through science and medicine help identify cures for the disease, so cancer center treatments like the one just opened will no longer need to exist.
Sean Swarner, a two-time cancer survivor who has successfully climbed to the summits of the tallest peaks on all continents, shared his story of survival and of hope. Swarner is the author of “Keep Climbing: How I Beat Cancer and Reached the Top of the World,” and signed copies of the books for many of the attendees after the ceremony.
Also sharing comments were Banner Health President and CEO Peter Fine, who talked of his own treatment experiences after he had been diagnosed with cancer two years ago. He explained why cancer centers such as the one now open in Sterling are so important for those experiencing the difficulties of the disease, the treatment process, and the side effects. He also expressed gratitude on behalf of Banner to the Walshes for their generous donation, and shared Banner’s commitment to continue to provide quality health care to Sterling and surrounding communities for many years to come.
Sterling Regional MedCenter’s CEO, Michelle Joy, thanked the many individuals who contributed to making the Cancer Center a reality, with a special note of thanks to Frank and Gloria Walsh for their extraordinary donation.
Tours of the new center were available after the official ceremony. Patients will be seen there beginning the week of Sept. 20 for infusion services and in mid-October for radiation therapy treatments.
The 8,600-square-foot David Walsh Cancer Center will offer radiation oncology, chemotherapy and infusion services, tumor registry, a physicians’ clinic and a patient education center. Radiation oncology services at the center will be a satellite location to the radiation oncology program at the Cancer Institute at North Colorado Medical Center, a sister Banner Health hospital in Greeley.
The David Walsh Cancer Center will meet an acute need in the northeastern Colorado plains where the nearest cancer care provider can be as far as 120 miles away in Denver.
