Forrest General Cancer Center Celebrates 25th Anniversary
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – (March 1, 2024) Treating cancer at Forrest General Hospital has come a long way since the construction of the Forrest General Cancer Center in 1999. This month, the Cancer Center celebrates its 25th anniversary.
With an increase in patients, the addition of state-of-the-art equipment and technology, improvements to treatments, and world-class physicians and radiologists – hematology/oncology, radiation oncology – coming on board, in the spring of 1997, Forrest General announced the construction of a freestanding Cancer Center. Services included at the 34,000-square-foot facility, built at a cost of $12 million, included Radiation Therapy, Medical Oncology, Oncology Unit, Surgery, Hematology/Oncology, Anatomic Pathology Lab, Radiology Services, Pastoral Services, Home Health, Hospice, Medical Social Work, Dietitians, Rehabilitation Unit, Cancer Registry, Psychiatric Services, Clinical Trials, and Stem Cell Transplanting. The facility was designed to add other cancer treatment modalities in the future.
“The Cancer Center provides Greater Hattiesburg the opportunity to have access to comprehensive care, said radiation oncologist, Sophy Mangana, MD, who has been at the Cancer Center since 2018. “Patients are able to receive treatment and supportive services under one roof. The community has the privilege to have specialized medical oncologists and participate in clinical trials and radiation oncologists with cutting-edge equipment.
”While treatment delivery has to be done at the Cancer Center’s infusion center and radiation treatment rooms, our physicians can consult patients while admitted at Forrest General Hospital, a service that is unique to this institution in Hattiesburg. We provide standard of care medicine to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. We also serve as a community resource by raising awareness about cancer prevention, screening, providing education and promoting early detection.
There are a handful of Forrest Health employees who have been at the Cancer Center since the beginning – Joseph Salloum, MD.; Kirk Jones, BS RT(T) CMD; Kenny Brock, BS RT(T) CMD; Sharon Bailey; and Richard Sanders, BS RT(T) CMD.
Before the Cancer Center was constructed and opened in 1999, the battle against cancer and the philosophy for caring for patients, had long been in play. But the new structure, built at the corner of 28th Avenue and Arlington Loop, helped the steady growth of cancer treatment, which was occurring on Forrest General Hospital’s main campus, to evolve. All of this is documented in the book, “50 Years, Forrest General Hospital: Medical Excellence, Community Loyalty,” compiled by John Guice.
Dr. Salloum said at the time, “the project demonstrates our commitment to our patients and our community. It will provide South Mississippi with a state-of-the-art cancer facility equipped as well as the renowned cancer centers in large metropolitan cities like Houston, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.”
“Bill Oliver and Lowery Woodall, former Forrest General presidents, did a great job building the center. Everyone wanted to be a part of it,” Salloum said. Approving the construction of the Cancer Center was actually the first thing Bill Oliver did while president and CEO of Forrest General Hospital.
John S. “Bo” Hrom, a Hattiesburg Clinic hematology/oncology physician, who serves as director of the Cancer Center’s Clinical Trials program, echoes those sentiments regarding the Center’s commitment to services offered to its patients.
“When it comes to Clinical Trials, Forrest General’s Cancer Center has the largest program in the state and is one of the most outstanding research centers in the nation,” said Bo Hrom, MD, Clinical Trial director. “And that’s a pretty big deal. No, we aren’t the size of Houston, Birmingham, or New Orleans, but our patients don’t have to travel to big cities like that in order to get the treatment they need. We are able to provide the exact same level of care here at the Cancer Center, if not better, being a smaller site. In two of our multiple myeloma studies, we had the first two patients in the world on those studies, right here in Hattiesburg. Those large trials will help thousands of patients.”
In 2017, the Cancer Center saw a renovation with a first-floor expansion of the Outpatient Clinical Solution (OPACS), (now known as the Forrest Health Infusion Center), an outpatient infusion, and chemotherapy unit. The unit provided chemo, infusion therapy, blood transfusion, vascular access device management, ambulatory pump home infusions, team consults, and lab monitoring.
In addition to the expansion, a new and more comfortable waiting area and lobby was constructed.
In 2019, a second project included a 2,146-square-foot addition to house a third linear accelerator, a covered entry into the back of the facility, and the implementation of a Patient Navigator program.
“After the project has been completed, the set-up of the Cancer Center will be more convenient for our patients because everything will be in one place. Cancer treatment can be a physically and emotionally challenging experience. We want to do our part to make everything as convenient and comfortable as possible,” said Joe Marcello, who served as Oncology Service Line administrator during the construction. Shannon Vega now oversees those responsibilities and serves as Cancer Center director.
“Our Cancer Center is the cornerstone of health care in our community, providing specialized care, supporting economic growth, enhancing the quality of life for patients and their families, and contributing to the broader global fight against cancer,” said Vega.
A final addition to the Cancer Center was the construction of a healing garden on the south side of the facility.
So, what changes did the Cancer Center bring to Hattiesburg and South Mississippi? According to Salloum, who has been a part of the cancer team for the last 36 years, the Cancer Center itself was a major change, providing for a bright and airy facility with more personalized space and a totally different atmosphere.”
He said with the center came new technology and equipment and brought the medical oncologists to the same building, “which made for seamless health delivery and was much more convenient for our patients.”
“The convenience of being able to receive both radiation and chemotherapy treatments in the same building, access to a Patient Navigator, social support, dietitians, counseling team, thus improved the quality of staffing, physicians and nurses. When the Cancer Center opened there was one LPN, now there are five nurses; there were four therapists, now there are 12; and there was one linear accelerator, now there are three.”
According to Salloum, one of the major advantages was the inclusion of medical oncology, which provided for more effective treatments for patients. Electronic medical records was also a huge change. “It made it easier on patients, provided a safer way to share records, and made the job much more efficient. It was the same for electronic imaging. We used to spend hours looking for films.”
Salloum said the Forrest General Cancer Center is one of the largest centers of its kind in the nation and not any less than any of the major cancer centers. The computers and technology are the same anywhere you go.
“How many times do you find that in a small town the size of Hattiesburg? While we may think of Hattiesburg as a small town, our medical community is very big and very strong. And it’s not stopping. It continues to grow and keeps getting better.”
During the early years of cancer treatment, the staff saw between 15 and 25 patients a day. These days they can treat up to 90, comfortably. “If we need to treat more patients, we have the capability to do so,” Salloum said.
“As Hattiesburg continues to grow, we are treating more patients,” Dr. Salloum said. “What’s bringing patients to us is our technology and our reputation. If we were doing a poor job, patients would not come here, but they do, and from far away through word of mouth. People know we do a good job, and we are proud of that.”
As the Cancer Center moves into a new age of patient care and medical innovation, its main goal continues to honor and fulfill the mission of Forrest General Hospital – to do what is best for the patient.
ABOUT FORREST GENERAL CANCER CENTER
Forrest General Hospital Cancer Center ranks among the largest and most sophisticated cancer treatment centers in South Mississippi. It offers a place where patients can receive advanced care in a beautiful, compassionate environment. Forrest General operates the only comprehensive community Cancer Center in the 19-county service area, and is accredited by the College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The center features the services of a multidisciplinary team led by medical oncologists/hematologists and radiation oncologists, who provide high quality medical care in a continuum of settings. In addition to medical and radiation oncologists, a complete range of physician specialists provide expertise in diagnoses, surgical removal, disease management and reconstructive procedures.
