SOUTH ARKANSAS CANCER CENTER - Healthcare is a concern for people no matter where they live but for smaller, more rural communities it can be a real game changer regarding growth. As bigger cities become less affordable, more people are considering relocating to smaller communities for a less-costlier, better quality of life. And a key thing they look for is a solid healthcare system in place. Scott Street is CEO with the Medical Center of South Arkansas which is located in El Dorado, Arkansas. I spoke with him recently about some new developments taking place with his organization, among which is the creation of a new comprehensive cancer center for South Arkansas.
"We kept hearing over and over again that there was a need for cancer care. And even though we do have some cancer care in our market, a comprehensive cancer program is not here," Street explained.
Street made the cancer center as a high priority for MCSA and reached out to Landmark Cancer Centers as a resource for creating a cancer care center in south Arkansas.
"I'd known (Landmark) them previously from north Arkansas years ago in putting in a full service cancer center there, so I knew they had other sites in the country and they'd be a good fit for here," said Street.
People in south Arkansas who need special cancer treatment have to travel to cancer centers in Shreveport or Little Rock which can really add some stress to their lives.
"The residents in this region not only in Union county but in the contiguous counties with us and beyond do have to travel for a lot of healthcare services," Street explained. "And so we're trying to create service lines and cancer is a big one, to allow residents in this area to stay home."
Another development is the re-establishment of a medical residency at MCSA with University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - College of Medicine.
Street said "It will be in the cancer building actually. It's a UAMS residency program, used to be here years ago but it closed and we're bringing it back to El Dorado and that's going to help our pipeline of providers down the road as well."
Scott Street is the CEO for the Medical Center of South Arkansas In El Dorado, the new comprehensive cancer center is expected to be open by Summer 2020. Other developments include a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion of the MCSA campus as well as increasing medical specialties.
For more information: www.themedcenter.net
