Markey Cancer Center: more space, more services for patients

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center unveiled its newest addition on Friday.

The center has a new inpatient floor on the 11th floor of the Albert B. Chandler Hospital Pavilion A.

The new floor has a unit in each tower, including a 31-bed unit for medical and surgical oncology patients, a 32-bed unit for bone marrow transplant and patients with blood cancers and, between the two units, eight new cancer inpatient beds.

The center says the new floor was designed with functionality in mind and the center’s nursing staff gave input on the layout of the floor, based on their personal experiences and feedback from their patients.

Among the input the nurses gave – having a nurse work station right outside each patient’s door, minimizing time spent away from the patient’s bedside.

The center says patients on the new floor will have access to both oncology rehabilitation and integrative medicine services, including pet therapy, art therapy, music therapy, narrative medicine, and much more.

Two units also have a hotel-style room connected to a patient room so families can stay next door to the patient throughout their stay and a business center so patients or their family can keep up with work or other responsibilities during their stay.

The Markey Cancer Center serves around 3,300 inpatients a year and performed more than 110 bone marrow tansplants in the last year.

For a look inside the new Markey Cancer Center floor, click here