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Medical Services
Oncology
Featuring the largest private patient suites in the hospital, a home-like atmosphere, and a family area, Mon General's new Oncology Unit accepted its first patients on May 1, 2009.
The Oncology Unit, located on 5th Floor North, was officially dedicated April 30, 2009. It was the first of the direct patient care areas in the hospital's North Tower renovation to open. The area blends in appearance with the hospital’s South Tower, which opened in July 2008.
Because many of the Oncology patients come to the hospital for extended stays, an emphasis was placed on families and their needs to be with the patient in the design of the unit. As a result, the patient rooms are larger to accommodate family members and the unit features a family lounge to give family members a place they can go to get away.
One name that figures prominently in Mon General's new Oncology Unit is the name "Kapnicky."
Since the death of his first wife, Iris, who was a patient in Mon General’s Oncology Unit several times prior to her death in 1998, Paul Kapnicky and his family have been strong supporters of Mon General and its Oncology Unit.
Through 10 years of sponsoring the Iris Kapnicky Memorial Golf Tournament at the Mountaineer Golf Course and through personal donations, Kapnicky has been committed to raising funds for the Oncology Unit. The Kapnicky Family sponsored a suite of three private rooms and a family room in the new unit.
Kapnicky approached The Foundation of Mon General with the idea of organizing a memorial golf tournament in Iris Kapnicky's honor to benefit the Oncology Department. He made a 10 year commitment to the tournament, designating that all funds proceeds be used for whatever was deemed necessary for the Oncology Department. The tenth and final tournament was held in July 2008.
The tournament raised funds for equipment and also provided funds for the nursing staff who wanted to be certified to work in the Oncology Department.
Kapnicky was very active in the department's renovation from the beginning of the planning. He had a vision of a unit that was designed with the family and patient in mind, recognizing the special area that an Oncology Unit is. This is an area where, probably more than any other area in the hospital, patients come for very difficult treatments and answers.
In creating the Oncology suites, two private rooms from the old hospital were combined into one new room in the renovated tower.
Another donor whose name is highly visible in the unit is Michael Oliverio, Sr. After his wife Julia's 2007 death, following an extended stay in the Oncology Unit, Oliverio established a trust in her honor, with proceeds benefiting the Oncology Department. The entry-way to the new Oncology Unit and a consultation room for doctors and nurses are named in her honor. His donations also helped fund a sound system that plays piano music as visitors leave the hospital, which he hopes will lift their spirits.
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