I am blessed to work closely with Novant Health Rowan Medical Center in a number of ways. One way I am tied to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center is through Healthy Rowan. I work alongside Jessica Ijames, Social Responsibility Manager and Dari Caldwell, former COO of Novant Health Rowan and current VP of Novant Health Foundation. They both provide vital information as part of our Executive Committee and guide community health improvements. Another, more personal way is when my father was treated for a severe stroke in December of 2017. He received amazing care in record time at Rowan Medical Center which has led to a great recovery. More on his story here. But moreover, I am linked with Novant Health Rowan Medical Center because it is the heart of healthcare here in our community. I can tell countless stories of friends, family, and neighbors going there to receive treatments. Novant Health Rowan Medical Center is vital to our community – and better yet they are continuously bringing new services to better serve Rowan County.
State-Of-The-Art Cancer Facility in Rowan County – Opening Fall 2020
If you haven’t heard, in 2018 the Novant Health Rowan Medical Center Foundation launched a $12 million capital campaign to support the construction of a state-of-the-art cancer center – the Wallace Cancer Center – which will be located at the intersection of Mahaley and Mocksville Avenues in Salisbury. The center will tackle some of the most difficult and complicated medical challenges today.
Rendering of the Wallace Cancer Center opening Fall 2020 at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center.
While many events have marked the celebration of the cancer center, I love this quote from Dari at the groundbreaking ceremony in December 2018, “We’ve had cancer care in this community. We just haven’t had it all under one roof. And what we’re creating here is for the convenience of our patients, and we are so delighted to have the participation and cooperation.”
Ground breaking ceremony of the Wallace Cancer Center in December 2018.
The Wallace Cancer Center will profoundly impact patient quality of life by personalizing patient-centered care, improving accessibility, increasing affordability, enhancing care coordination, and providing leading-edge treatment. The Cancer Center brings all current cancer services offered in one convenient place for patients and their families. Services include prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and research. Any acute or chronic condition can be devastating for a loved one – with cancer being one of the trickiest medical conditions with many unknowns.
Dr. William Brinkley of Carolina Oncology Associates also spoke about the improvements the cancer center will bring to the community during the ground breaking ceremony in December 2018.
“It will allow us to take care of patients all under one roof,” Brinkley said. “It will also give us the space, technology, and supportive resources we need to continue to provide the quality of care that is expected. Oncology is an ever-evolving, rapidly changing field. We need the support, services and resources to be able to provide that care.”
Rick Parker, Director of Rowan Medical Center Foundation, said the Cancer Center is a promise he made to the late Tippie Miller, a long-time foundation supporter who died of cancer in 2017.
“Tippie Miller on her death bed grabbed my hand and pulled me down to her bed,” Parker said. “She said, ‘Promise me you’ll build this thing.’ As we go forward tonight, as we go through the season, as we build this cancer center, … think about Tippie and that drive that she had to make sure we did this. And we’re going to do this thing, guys.”
The goal of having a Cancer Center is to provide personalized patient-centered care conveniently located adjacent from the hospital. For Rowan County and the surrounding counties, this is also a huge draw for future physicians and businesses in the area to support our growing community.
The center is designed to create an environment conducive to personalized patient care. In fact, the facility will be able to improve patient access with all of these services in one building and support predicted population growth. Moreover, having a cancer center in Rowan County provides lifesaving healthcare in our backyard allowing locals a chance to receive their care closer to home. Studies have shown that treating cancer patients in a single outpatient setting has the potential to drastically reduce healthcare costs, which is a unique approach among area medical providers. One of the best things about the center is that it offers the opportunity for greater collaboration among multiple medical disciplines.
Ground breaking ceremony of the Wallace Cancer Center in December 2018.
Novant Health Rowan Medical Center – Growing Rowan County’s Vision for Health
The Wallace Cancer Center is not the only innovative approach to addressing increasing rates of cancer in Rowan County and the surrounding areas. Novant Health Rowan Medical Center provides a mammography mobile coach to ensure all women have access to high-quality breast health services. The mammography mobile coach travels throughout Rowan County and surrounding communities stopping at schools, churches, the local free clinic, and at the homeless shelter to ensure access to care is equal regardless of ability to pay or travel to a full-service imaging center.
The Novant Health Breast Center Mobile Mammography Unit is a 38-ft. multi-functional coach that offers cutting-edge screening mammography services out in the community.
Upcoming sites for the Mobile Mammography Coach include:
| Date | Location |
| Monday, August 26, 2019, 9 a.m. -4 p.m. | Novant Health Lakeside Primary Care (Speedway) 7752 Gateway Lane NW, #100, Concord, NC Call 704-316-4950 |
| Friday, September 6, 2019, 9 a.m. -4 p.m. | Novant Health High Rock Internal Medicine 104 W Medical Park Drive, Lexington, NC Call 336-330-1408 |
| Saturday, September 21, 2019, 2 p.m. -6 p.m. | Novant Health Chair City Family Medicine China Grove, NC Call 704-210-5924 |
| Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 9 a.m. -4 p.m. | Novant Health Primary Care East Rowan (Rockwell) 316 W Main Street, Rockwell, NC Call 704-279-1046 |
| Friday, September 27, 2019, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Novant Health Kannapolis Family Medicine 1035 Dale Earnhardt Blvd, Kannapolis, NC Call 704-316-1886 |
Lastly, you will see many upcoming events related to the Cancer Center as we prepare for the grand opening in the Fall of 2020. The Novant Health Rowan Medical Center Foundation is currently working to raise awareness and funding to benefit team members and patients.
I want to hear from you! What helps you stay healthy each and every day? Are you excited about the opening of the Novant Health Rowan Wallace Cancer Center? Share your story with me at health@yourrowan.com.
