The Northwell Health Care system announced on Monday the opening of its newest facility, the $6.2 million Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Riverhead.
The new center, offering integrated cancer services to residents of the East End, includes an eight-bay infusion/chemotherapy unit, nutritional counseling, social workers, targeted therapy, and consultations in breast, colorectal, surgical oncology, thoracic and plastic surgery, as well as an on-site state-of-the-art lab and pharmacy.
The new cancer center, part of Northwell's 23-hospital network, will provide in-patient cancer care, emergency care, screening and diagnostic imaging, primary care, and specialty care. The various care teams will meet weekly by teleconference to discuss diagnostics and treatment options, allowing for multiple second opinions.
Dr. Richard Barakat, the physician-in-chief and director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, said in a statement that "joining other institutional members of the health system's cancer institutes, the Riverhead facility will offer novel clinical trials to patients, some of which are in partnership with the renowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, as well as cancer genetic testing. This is what makes Northwell's cancer institutes unique in delivering cancer care."
The Riverhead location was chosen in the hope of decreasing the toll of travel on patients and their relatives, said Dr. Kenneth Gold, director of medical oncology for the health system's eastern region, in the release. East Enders will no longer need to drive west to Bay Shore or Huntington to receive cancer services from Northwell, he said.
