Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center at Baptist Clay opened a satellite location April 3 in Fleming Island.
The 18,700-square-foot Cancer Center is part of Baptist Medical Center Clay, a $234 million campus that opened Dec. 19. Construction on that 300,000-square-foot hospital at 1771 Baptist Clay Drive began in 2020.
Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center at Baptist Clay is at 2310 Village Square Parkway, Suite 106.
The facility offers medical oncology, radiation oncology and infusion services. Breast surgery services are scheduled to begin in late 2023.
“Having the caliber of Baptist MD Anderson, an affiliation between Baptist Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center, right here in Clay County, is a tremendous advantage to our residents, who often have to travel for this level of expertise,” said Darin Roark, Baptist Medical Center Clay president, in a news release.
“Now, patients can access leading-edge technology, therapies and a multidisciplinary team in their neighborhood.”
With the opening of the Fleming Island location, there are three Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Centers in the Jacksonville area. The others are at 1301 Palm Ave. on the Downtown Southbank and Baptist Medical Center South, 14546 Old St. Augustine Road in South Jacksonville.
The facility includes a linear accelerator used to shrink cancer tumors without damaging nearby tissue.
“It is gratifying to see how our presence has gone from a single site on our Baptist Jacksonville campus to Baptist South and now Baptist Clay,” said LeeAnn Mengel, vice president of Baptist MD Anderson.
“Part of our growth involves enhancing our ability to treat more patients, and we plan to continue expanding our access points to better serve the entire region.”
It is estimated that there will be 162,000 new cancer cases diagnosed in Florida in 2023, ranking the state only behind California in the number of new cancer patients, according to the release.
Cancer rates in Clay County are 36.1% higher than the overall rate statewide and 47.2% higher than the nationwide rate.