Clinical leaders, colleagues, and supporters of the Sister Caritas Cancer Center at Mercy Medical Center recently gathered for an evening of celebration. Following a garden tribute to honor the late Michael Rosen, M.D., the event continued with a celebration to mark the anniversary of the capital campaign for a major expansion of the cancer center.

Mercy President Robert Roose, M.D., M.P.H, addresses the gathering at the Sister Caritas Cancer Center. 

Dr. Michael Rosen was foundational to the expansion of the cancer center and provided excellence in hematologic and cancer care to the local community for more than 35 years. To his patients and colleagues, Dr. Rosen epitomized the culture of care and served as a bright light of hope.

The capital campaign was initially launched to support a $15 million project to expand the Sister Caritas Cancer Center. The project added 26,000 square feet to the facility’s footprint and brought Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology services together under one roof. Thousands of patients have been treated at the cancer center since the expansion project was completed in 2015.

The event featured remarks from Mercy leaders and Lynn Hall, Senior Director of Patient Experience for Johnson & Johnson. Hall, a Springfield native, provided information about her own experience as a breast cancer survivor and the importance of a caring environment like the Sister Caritas Cancer Center where her father received treatment. According to Lynn, the pragmatic and empathetic oncologists and nurses at the cancer center left her and her family confident and comforted that all the right things were being done for her father. She also noted her firsthand experience of the impact of nurse advocacy and trust on a cancer patient’s journey.