Oncology care at Kane County Hospital: the long road to bring oncology care close to home
- Kane County Hospital
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
KANE COUNTY —Three of the most dreaded words in all of healthcare are, “You have cancer.” Our hope at Kane County Hospital (KCH) is that nobody ever needs to hear those words again, and we know that hope of no cancer ever is unrealistic on our planet today. What makes those words even worse to hear, is when you know that the nearest treatment is over 160-mile round trip away, and that you are going to need to make that trip hundreds of times before you will be able to say you have beaten cancer.
In a partnership with Intermountain Health (IH), Kane County Hospital is pleased to announce our TeleOncology service is up and running. You can now see your oncologist via our state-of-the-art teleVisit equipment right here at KCH! Not only can you see your oncologist without needing to drive to the city, but you can also receive your medication related treatment right here close to home!
Much like the road Kane County residents used to need to travel to get cancer treatments, it has been a long and winding road to where we are today. Kane County Hospital CEO Kurt Loveless and I first started talking with Intermountain Health about these services back in the spring of 2023. It’s been years of discussions, meetings, planning and implementation to get us to where we are today.
After that first meeting back in May of 2023, Mr. Loveless and I spoke about just how vital this service would be for our community and the need to prioritize it to the top of the list of projects we needed to get underway as soon as possible. We knew the board would agree and we knew the community needed this service.
It has been three years in the negotiation, approval, planning, education and training phase, and KCH in partnership with IH went “live” with TeleOncology services on March 19 and began working toward getting referrals and getting patients enrolled in the service.
Which brings me back to that long and winding road between here and St. George. During that hour and a half drive back to KCH after that first meeting to discuss oncology services for our community, Kurt and I knew this was an important service, but we had no idea just how important this service would become to him. You see, we have enrolled our first oncology patient, and it was someone we never expected when we began these talks three years ago.
In November Kurt Loveless sat and held his wife Taffy’s hand as she heard the words she intuitively knew were coming. “You have breast cancer.” On Wednesday April 15, following additional testing, surgery and surgical recovery, Mrs. Loveless began her chemotherapy treatments with the “distinction” of being our first oncology/ chemotherapy patient.
The team had prepared and her treatment was wonderfully uneventful. When asked to share about her experience, Taffy said, “I felt I was in great hands with my care team in St. George. Now at Kane County Hospital, I have that same confidence while being closer to home and surrounded by my support system. It makes all the difference - go Team Tawanda! - a reference to Fried Green Tomatoes, symbolizing strength, resilience and having a team behind you. Taffy has her “Team Tawanda” behind her and here at Kane County Hospital; we are proud we can be part of that team.
