BENNINGTON – Southwestern Vermont Medical Center has received state approval to construct a $21 million, 17,900-square-foot cancer treatment center expansion on its Bennington campus.
Approval for the required Certificate of Need permit was granted Wednesday following a meeting of the Green Mountain Care Board, which reviewed the hospital’s plans.
“I want to thank the Green Mountain Care Board for the thorough review and support of this project," said Tom Dee, president and CEO of SVMC. "As the board noted in its decision, this project will positively impact the public good and enhance access to care. The CON approval is a major step forward in this transformative project, which is essential to the health of our region.”
Citing the official name of the planned facility, Dee added, “Our community has recognized the need, donating over $11 million in philanthropic support for the new Hoyt-Hunter Center for Oncology Care at the Dartmouth Cancer Center in Bennington. We look forward now to moving this process ahead and finalizing a project timeline.”
He noted that a single Southwestern Vermont Health Care Foundation fund-raising event on June 21 netted nearly $1 million toward the project.
Major expansion
SVMC officials had sought to construct a new facility adjacent and connected to the current 1,200-square-foot treatment center, which they said is undersized for modern cancer treatment, “and, even if renovated, would be insufficient to meet patient needs.”
According to the hospital’s permit application, the current center “was constructed in 1995. Although cancer care has changed substantially during the ensuing 30 years and demand for cancer care has steadily increased, SVMC’s cancer center has not undergone upgrades.”
In early application filings by SVMC, officials had estimated that if a permit was granted in the spring of 2025, that would “allow the treatment of patients in the new facility at the start of 2027.”
Details noted in the permit application and in the GMCB’s findings in its 11-page permit decision include:
-The total project cost is estimated to be $21 million, $8,203,088 of which has been fundraised for the project. A $2 million federal grant also has been awarded through the Health Resources and Services Administration.
-The remaining source of funds, $11 million, will be obtained at a low-interest rate through Dartmouth Health, with which the Bennington hospital is affiliated.
-New construction is budgeted at close to $12.6 million and includes approximately $1.6 million in infrastructure elements, including installation of an air handler unit, an electrical generator, and modern electrical switch gear, and relocation of an electrical transformer.
-Architectural and administrative fees are expected to account for approximately $4.8 million. Site work is projected to cost approximately $1.7 million, and renovation of 1,800 square feet of existing space to connect to the new building is estimated at approximately $803,000.
-“Based on our review of the record,” the state board found, “we conclude that the applicant can sustain the financial burden likely to result from the project. Philanthropic support and a grant provide nearly half of the $21M required for the project.”
- “The current facility does not support modern team-based cancer care delivery,” the board found. “Building a new facility will limit disruption of oncology care during construction. New construction will improve patient and staff flow by collocating chemotherapy and medical infusion, increasing proximity to the linear accelerator, enhancing access to palliative care, and improving parking access. Through SVMC’s partnership with Efficiency Vermont, all appropriate energy conservation initiatives have been integrated into the project.”
-The board also found that the “new cancer center will improve access by allowing repatriation of care closer to home and at a lower-cost institution.”
Other project considerations cited in the Certificate of Need application and/or by the GMCB include:
-SVMC provides care to the communities of Bennington and Windham counties in Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts.
-The incidence of cancer in the Bennington Hospital Service Area is statistically higher than any other region in Vermont and considerably higher than the U.S. average, and is projected to increase by more than 20 percent over the next decade.
-The modernized cancer center will increase the number of exam rooms from six to 12 and expand the number of infusion treatment spaces from nine to 16.
-The project will construct a pharmacy central to the infusion area. It will provide direct line-of-sight from the care team area to most infusion treatment spaces. It will provide a private space for catheter and venous port flushes, and provide space for the Dartmouth Cancer Center oncology specialists, and it will provide adequate supply and medical device storage space.
-The new facility will include a right-sized pharmacy with appropriate hoods and air flow that is central to the infusion area. It will allow clinical trials of new cancer treatments to be conducted in partnership with the Dartmouth center.
-SVMC’s membership in the Dartmouth Health network of hospitals will provide access to clinical trials of new cancer treatments. Through telemedicine connections, SVMC’s oncology cases are presented at the Dartmouth Center tumor board.