Smilow Cancer Hospital Opens

Before 500 invited guests and elected officials, and with many cancer survivors and their families looking on, the new Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven was formally dedicated at a ceremony on Oct. 21, launching what many hope will be a new era that seamlessly merges cutting-edge research, advanced cancer treatment and humane patient care.

The hospital’s work began in earnest the following Monday when the first patient walked into the 14-story, 500,000 square foot hospital for treatment. The radiation oncology center was the first area of Smilow Hospital to open, with other cancer-care services, surgical suites and floors of inpatient beds due to open over the next five months.

Five years in the design and making, the $467 million Smilow Cancer Hospital became reality thanks to a major philanthropic gift by Yale alumnus Joel E. Smilow (Yale College, 1954) and his wife Joan. Smilow, the former chair, chief executive officer and president of Playtex Products Inc. is one of Yale’s most generous benefactors. He endowed six varsity coaching positions and contributed the naming funds for renovation and expansion of the Yale Field Center.

With a snip of the scissors the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven was officially opened. Wielding the scissors are (from left) Dr. Robert Alpern, dean of the Yale School of Medicine; Richard C. Levin, president of Yale; Joel E. and Joan Smilow, whose gift helped fund the center; Marna P. Borgstrom, president and CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital; Joseph R. Crespo, chair of the board of trustees at Yale-New Haven Hospital; Dr. Thomas Lynch, director of the Yale Cancer Center; the Reverend Theodore L. Brooks, another member of Yale-New Haven Hospital’s board of trustees; cancer survivor Bonnie Kaplan Tymniak; and John DeStefano, mayor of New Haven.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Smilow revealed the reason behind his philanthropy, saying, “It will pay dividends every year. Every year, thousands of patients will benefit.” Smilow added that he dreamed someday his grandchildren would get a phone call from hospital officials saying that there were just not enough people getting cancer and that they hoped to find alternative uses for the space.

Governor Jodi Rell, a cancer survivor, spoke of how important the new building is to the economy of New Haven, the region and the state, adding that Smilow Cancer Hospital would “make it possible to save lives and to change lives.” President Richard C. Levin, Yale School of Medicine Dean Dr. Robert J. Alpern, and Yale Cancer Center Director Dr. Thomas Lynch also spoke of the promise of the new cancer hospital, as did a young mother and three-time cancer survivor, Bonnie Kaplan Tymniak, who watched the building go up from the window of her room during one of her stays at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven puts all of the hospital’s and Yale School of Medicine’s oncology patient services under one roof in a building specifically designed for cancer care. In fact, cancer patients had input into the hospital’s design. One unique feature is an outdoor healing garden on the seventh floor, with trees, shrubs, benches, a small stream and views of New Haven.

Yale Cancer Center is one of just 40 facilities in the United States that have been designated as comprehensive cancer centers by the National Cancer Institute, and Smilow is the only such hospital in southern New England.

Smilow patients will be treated by one of 12 teams of Yale physicians who are experts in their particular form of cancer. Patients will also be able to benefit from the Yale Cancer Center’s cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary research into what Lynch calls “personalized medicine,” i.e., tailoring cancer treatment to a patient’s individual molecular profile.

At the dedication ceremony, Lynch said, “There are reasons to be more hopeful now than ever that a cure for cancer will happen in our lifetime.” Lynch promised all patients the best possible chance at successful treatment, but also acknowledged that that’s not always possible, saying that those patients will receive compassionate palliative care.

Other major plans for Yale Cancer Center include recruiting clinicians and translational researchers, expanding clinical trials and developing a clinical program that will provide molecular profiling services that will enable targeted therapies.

— By Helen Dodson