Donors pledge $ 40 million for Huntsman Cancer Institute's proposed 100,000-square-foot expansion

Donors have pledged half of the money needed to build the proposed Huntsman Cancer Institute expansion, at the University of Utah, which officials say is needed to accommodate the growing number of patients seeking medical care. treatment.

Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman Cancer Foundation, announced Thursday the donation of $ 40 million at the foundation's annual gala. The project needs to get the rest of the funding – probably through legislated obligations – before construction can begin. Donors include Spencer and Kristin Kirk in honor of Kathryn F. Kirk, the Humanitarian Aid Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and doTERRA International.

The new addition, which Huntsman called Phase 5 of the project that his parents Jon and Karen launched in 1995, is expected to add an additional 100,000 square feet to the northern part of the institute. This new space translates into 50 additional rooms for hospitalized patients, as well as new clinics, particularly one specializing in female cancers, Huntsman said. The space will increase the number of patients served each year from 125,000 to 180,000, Huntsman said.

The new expansion will be named the Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Integrated Treatment of Cancer and Women's Cancers, Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Huntsman said this expansion is necessary because the institute is usually at full capacity, and sometimes patients seeking treatment have to go elsewhere because there is not enough room for them.

Mary Beckerle, CEO of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, who has been studying cells and cancer for decades, said she was not scared by the growing number of patients needing cancer treatment. In fact, she said it was the most exciting time in cancer research because science has progressed to the point where researchers and doctors understand the disease more than they do. have never been. .

In addition, the population of Utah is increasing. This, coupled with the institute which is the only cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute in the west of the mountain, means that the demand for treatment there is increasing. And institute leaders have a duty to respond to this need.

"We consider it to be our sacred responsibility to serve not only the people of Utah, but also the people beyond Utah, in the mountains of the five western states," he said. Beckerle.

The new expansion would mean less work space on the University of Utah campus, and Huntsman and Beckerle said they did not know exactly where they would set up a phase 6. Maybe that will not be necessary. Beckerle and Huntsman said that eradication of cancer was the goal of the institute.

If that happens, Huntsman said, the institute would become a world class hotel. He said on Thursday that the change would be smooth because, at the request of his father, the institute was already equipped with furniture and decors adapted to a luxury hotel.

"It's absolutely beautiful," said Huntsman, "[But] what is better than bricks and mortar is the dedicated commitment we have with researchers and doctors and the people who actually support [the institute]. "

The University of Utah's Board of Trustees, the state legislature and the university's construction supervisory committee must approve the project before they can move forward. If approved in time, construction could begin in December 2019 with the opening in the fall of 2022, according to a press release from the foundation.

Editor 's Note: Paul Huntsman, son of Jon Huntsman Sr., is the owner and publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune.