Support a Cancer Center in Bullitt County!

Judge Executive Jerry Summers invites everyone to send a letter of support to our State Representatives to vote for funding of a Rural Cancer Education and Research facility on the UofL Health-South Hospital campus in Bullitt County.  Contact information and a sample letter are attached below. 

Sample Letter of Support

SUBJECT: Support $25 Million in the Budget over the biennium to support the UofL Health’s Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research in Bullitt County.

Dear Members of the House Majority Leadership:

I would like to express my strong support regarding the budget request for the Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research in Bullitt County, serving South Central and Western Kentucky. Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with UofL Health and Brown Cancer Center representatives. I was impressed with their vision to create a Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research in Bullitt County on the UofL Health-South Hospital campus.

Kentucky has the highest death rate of cancer in the U.S. (182.8/100,000), and more than 10,000 Kentuckians die of cancer each year. Twice as many Kentuckians died of cancer than of COVID during the last three years, and cancer rates are expected to increase by 50% in the next 20 years. Cancer healthcare costs in Kentucky are $2.74 billion per year, while productivity losses from morbidity and early deaths in Kentucky cost an additional $3.1 billion per year.

By leveraging the University of Louisville’s R1/Carnegie Status this investment would expand educational and research programs into South Central and Western Kentucky by training and educating healthcare workers from medically underserved communities who will then return to their communities. Today, patients from South Central and Western Kentucky travel long distances to Louisville, Lexington, and Nashville for cancer care. In FY2023, the Brown Cancer Center had more than 15,000 outpatient encounters from South Central and Western Kentucky and saw patients from 115 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. No comprehensive cancer centers outside Lexington and Louisville offer multidisciplinary subspecialist care, clinical trials, access to state-of-the-art screening, and educational and support programs for cancer patients. There is a need for cancer care for patients in rural areas. 

The proposed plan is to build the Center in Bullitt County, accessible and located along the I-65 corridor, connecting the Bluegrass Parkway and Western Kentucky Parkway. This location is ideal for patients traveling from South Central and Western Kentucky. With UofL Health – South Hospital nearing completion (Spring 2024), this location is ideal, with access via I-65 and other major highways. The new cancer center will be located on the South Hospital campus, allowing access to emergency and inpatient services.

This integrated center would serve as a base for clinical trials, enhanced nursing/physician educational programs, cancer screening and outreach with partnering oncologists throughout the Commonwealth, and the world-renowned cancer care provided by the Brown Cancer Center.

• An education space would include a lecture hall, video conferencing space, and conference rooms; training for oncology nurses and physicians in clinics; and will offer rotations with community oncologists from South Central and Western Kentucky.
• A research laboratory for specimen processing and research space for data collection would support cancer clinical trials and translational research.
• Collaborating with the Kentucky Cancer Program, a patient wellness center, and a cancer screening program connecting primary care providers to innovative screening technology would provide cancer outreach and education to Central and Western Kentucky.
• The center would include 20 infusion rooms, five exam rooms, an oncology pharmacy, a diagnostic imaging suite, and an outpatient laboratory. We estimate being able to provide 4,800 infusions in the first 12 months and treat more than 500 cancer patients per year.

I support the request of an investment of $25 Million in the upcoming biannual budget to increase access to multidisciplinary, comprehensive cancer care, life-saving phase one clinical trials, and research to meet the needs of thousands of cancer patients in South Central and Western Kentucky.  Please include $25 Million in the Budget over the biennium to support the UofL Health’s Center for Rural Cancer Education and Research in Bullitt County.

Thank you for your consideration and service.

Sincerely,

***YOUR NAME***