Advancing care through lasting partnership
In California’s far northern region, Dignity Health’s Mercy Medical Center is a leading care provider, serving residents from Redding and the surrounding 11 counties. Already the region’s designated trauma center, Mercy is also home to a level III neonatal intensive care unit, the Mercy Heart Center and the Pediatric Pavilion.
To advance oncology care in the area and better serve area residents within their own community, Mercy is now in the planning stages for a new riverfront Regional Cancer Center. The new facility will increase by more than a third the number of new cancer patients seen annually.
To support the cancer center project, Mercy Foundation North, which supports three Dignity Health Hospitals in the North State and the Connected Living program for seniors, has committed to an ambitious campaign to raise a minimum of $10 million to support the estimated $70 million project. Earlier this year, the foundation announced the campaign’s lead gift, a $3 million donation from the Sierra Pacific Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sierra Pacific Industries.
“With the complex needs that cancer patients have, the value of having co-located, quality medical care and cancer treatment services available to families is immeasurable,” says Sierra Pacific Foundation President Carolyn Emmerson Dietz. “With our foundation having been a long-standing partner with Dignity Health and Mercy’s oncology programming and supportive services for decades, we’re proud to be part of this vital investment that will help improve the quality of lives, treatment options and outcomes for patients and their families.”
“The commitment of the Sierra Pacific Foundation to invest in our communities and to advancing cancer care in the North State is, quite frankly, transformational.”
Currently, the medical center’s cancer programs set the standard in the North State for comprehensive care for patients through applied research, education, prevention and early detection. Mercy has been recognized for more than three decades by the American College of Surgeons with its highest level of accreditation for comprehensive cancer programs.
Looking ahead, the new 40,000 square-foot Regional Cancer Center will allow for the expansion of oncology outpatient visits from 18,000 annually to an estimated 25,000 to 28,000. The new facility will have room for up to 10 practicing oncologists, nearly doubling the current capacity. The Regional Cancer Center will have a 12,000 square-foot dedicated radiation oncology facility as well as a new imaging center, featuring state-of-the-art positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment. A retail pharmacy, blood transfusion site and a subspecialist clinic, including surgical oncologists, will be housed within the center to conveniently bring related needs under a single roof. Finally, a survivorship clinic, support groups, education and cancer resource center, as well as large meeting areas for cancer screenings, events and community education will truly establish the new center as a regional center of excellence in cancer care.
“Sierra Pacific Foundation has generously supported countless health care initiatives through Mercy Medical Center Redding over the past 26 years,” noted Maggie Redmon, President of Mercy Foundation North. “The commitment of Sierra Pacific Foundation to invest in our communities and to advance cancer care in the North State is, quite frankly, transformational. This lead gift launches a robust campaign to support the new center.”
Since its founding in 1979, the Sierra Pacific Foundation has made a commitment to growing healthy communities through supporting health and human services, education and youth development, environmental stewardship, public safety and workforce development programs in Sierra Pacific Industries' operating communities.
Groundbreaking for the Regional Cancer Center is expected to take place in the summer of 2023 with an anticipated opening date of July 2025.
