FIRST LOOK: Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357
Leaders at Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 (CCHE) and the Egypt Cancer Network have spent the last three years working toward fulfilling a mission: becoming one of the most comprehensive pediatric cancer treatment and teaching hospitals in the world. When all construction work is completed, the existing hospital will have more than doubled its capacity to 550 beds along with 16 operating rooms, three of which will have intraoperative MRI abilities, and will have expanded associated medical services.
In addition to the work above, CallisonRTKL has been assisting CCHE to build a new 67,000-square-meter outpatient center that will accommodate more than 300,000 visitors per year with more than 250 infusion chairs and an advanced radiotherapy center with plans to add proton therapy. The center is designed with a flexible planning module, allowing it to easily adapt to growth and changes within the various clinical modalities over time.
Future caregivers will be able to hone their skills in a new 30,000-square-meter academic building with the latest in simulation lab technology. The new building features state-of-the-art technology integrated into a flexible and open floor plan. One of the main drivers for the design was flexibility. Knowing that the campus will be facing dramatic growth in its services and employees over the next 20 years, this building is made adaptable to future changes that may occur. The hospital, which is funded through donations, provides this care to all patients free of charge.
CCHE is partnering with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital to help develop the programs for the new facility, and has recently engaged in a new fellowship program with Harvard Medical School to establish the Research Institute.
Beyond state-of-the-art clinical treatment received within the hospital, CCHE also focuses on a patient/family centered care model addressing clinical, emotional and spiritual needs. The design weaves spaces for interactive play (education, child activity and entertainment) throughout the entire campus.
Once completed, the campus will hold the largest children’s oncology center in the world. The campus expansion is happening in phases. The expanded and new facilities aim to serve a majority of the in-country demand for child cancer care for Egypt, as well as provide services for the Middle East Area and the Arabian Peninsula. The first phase, consisting of the outpatient center, is currently under construction with a completion date of July 2019. The academic building is scheduled to be completed in 2020, and the hospital expansion will be completed by 2022.