Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Port Huron Campus Opens

PORT HURON, Mich. – The newest Karmanos Cancer Institute, located at the McLaren Port Huron campus in Port Huron, Michigan, has opened. The project was jointly designed by CallisonRTKL and SmithGroupJJR. Serving as the construction management team for this new facility was the joint venture of Barton Malow and Christman Company.

The $21-million, 35,000-square-foot Karmanos Cancer Institute is the first phase of a larger transformation underway at the McLaren Port Huron campus. The center provides comprehensive oncology services, integrating chemotherapy and radiation therapy into one facility. With its development, McLaren Health Care brings a new standard of cancer care to the Port Huron community.

The center features a linear accelerator, a state-of-the-art device that delivers external-beam radiation precisely to the tumor while minimizing damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. Twelve chemotherapy infusion bays on the second floor offer patients privacy, views overlooking nature, heated massage lounge chairs and televisions for long treatment sessions. Physician consult space enables treatment planning, examination and follow-up care. In addition, multidisciplinary teams focused on 13 specific types of care, access to genetic counseling and testing and patient navigation services, including the coordination of support care, are all offered within the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

“The project team drew inspiration from the surrounding environment for the design of the cancer center,” said Bob Varga, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, SmithGroupJJR, about the distinct design intentions and approach. “On the building exterior, metal panels “ripple” in color, just as the nearby river does while the glassy stair towers act as light houses identifying the cancer center. The interior continues the same thought with materials in blues and warm natural hues.”

The Karmanos Cancer Institute offers the most advanced and comprehensive oncology services available to cancer patients, while also serving as a supportive and patient-centered environment. As one of 14 Karmanos cancer treatment sites in Michigan, the new Port Huron facility further solidifies the Karmanos-McLaren collaboration as one of Michigan’s top cancer care providers.

The SmithGroupJJR and CallisonRTKL team continues to provide master planning, programming and conceptual design services for the McLaren Port Huron campus. The new cancer center is along with several phases underway that will make McLaren Port Huron the hospital of choice for the Port Huron community.