Contractors preparing PCI facility for open house

Construction crews are completing work on the new Physicians' Clinic of Iowa facility in Cedar Rapids, in advance of an open house Saturday.

The $47 million, privately-funded facility provides one-stop-shopping for patients.

A countless number of screws still need to be drilled into the walls of a massive medical mall that will see some 2,500 people each day, including Marty Hoeger of Cedar Rapids

“My son has been in remission of brain cancer for four years now," Hoeger said.

Hoeger's 13-year-old son Jack participated at the PCI groundbreaking almost two years ago. He's a young boy who knows the inside of medical facilities all too well.

“He just had tubes placed in his ears last week, and we had three different doctors' visits in three different locations, whereas if that were to happen six months from now or two weeks from now, it would all happen under one roof,” said Hoeger.

It's a two-story mega complex, so patients and doctors of different fields can all meet in one place.

Some of the equipment still sits in boxes as other staff work to set up new protocols on new tools. It's all in preparation for patients, half of them coming from outside of Cedar Rapids, with a day full of appointments with different specialists and a need for various tests.

The building has a state-of-the-art MRI room that allows patients to pick a destination while lying down and gets results that could alter their life. A new chemotherapy room gives patients a place to bond and get treatment together.

“It can be really overwhelming, but you know, (you can) work with that patient and get them the right info at the same time and also take into consideration the impact it has on their family members,” said Helen G. Nassif Community Cancer Center Director Kimberly Ivester.

The ribbon cutting is Friday night, with an open house Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. That's when patients are welcomed to come and tour the new facility to check out the building before any upcoming appointments. Physicians will start seeing patients April 15.