Back on track: Medical hub
BS&W projects advance despite pandemic BY DAVID STONE SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM
While the coronavirus pandemic curtailed many construction and expansion plans at area medical facilities, two projects at Baylor Scott & White in Temple are moving forward. The construction of a new radiation oncology facility at Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center in Temple resumed late last year and is expected to be in operation by spring 2022, according to Dr. Niloyjyoti Deb, chairman of radiation oncology at the Temple hospital. “Construction started in October 2019 but was halted because of the pandemic,” he said. “Work resumed in November 2020 but we have had to extend the completion date.” With 27,000 additional square footage and new equipment, the facility will be able to treat an additional 70 patients every day, Deb said. “The addition will be adjacent to the existing Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center and will allow patients to receive all cancer treatments in one location,” he said. “Right now, radiation oncology is located in the hospital. It’s not far from the treatment center, but being in one place will be a tremendous help and convenience to our patients.” The expansion will give Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center additional treatment rooms, a conference center, more space for planning and offices, and the latest in cancer-fighting equipment, including two TrueBeam linear accelerators and a top-of-the-line CAT scan machine. “The linear accelerators will give us the ability to perform very specialized procedures,” Deb said. “The new facility will greatly improve the overall pa-
Telegram file
Alyssa Mayer, left, and her mother, Twyla Mayer, decorate horseshoes at the Give Cancer the Boot survivor event in June 2019 at the Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center in Temple.
“The new facility will greatly improve the overall patient experience, and allow us to perform more high-level procedures.” Dr. Niloyjyoti Deb, chairman of radiation oncology at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Temple
tient experience, and allow us to perform more high-level procedures.” The Baylor College of Medicine announced plans earlier this year to open a campus in Temple. Dr. Paul Klotman, president of the Houston-based medical school, said the campus will open in July 2023 with an inaugural class of 40 medical students. “We’re actively planning and building a foundation for the Temple campus,” he said. “This will give us the opportunity to train more doctors to help solve the state’s doctor shortage.”
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Texas has a shortage of nearly 5,000 primary-care doctors and has the nation’s 47th-worst ratio of doctors per person, he said. Baylor’s new campus will replace Texas A&M in Temple. The Baylor Scott & White hospital in Temple was one of six clinical rotation sites for the Texas A&M medical school. Aggie med students receive first- and secondyear classroom instruction in College Station before spending their third and fourth years in hospital settings. A&M is leaving Temple to increase its presence at Baylor Uni-
versity Medical Center in Dallas and at Texas Medical Center in Houston. Pete McCanna, president of Baylor Scott & White Health, called the agreements with Texas A&M and Baylor College of Medicine a win-win situation for all involved. “These two long-term partnerships will ensure (Baylor Scott & White) patients throughout the state have access to breakthrough medical discoveries and cuttingedge treatments for generations to come,” McCanna said. Klotman said Baylor College of Medicine will offer the same curriculum in Temple that it does at its main campus in Houston. “Our first class in Temple will consist of 40 students,” Klotman said. “We will add 40 every year until we reach our capacity of 160.” June 27, 2021
