The ceremonial bell ringing.
It's a symbol of hope and celebration for patients who have finished their
cancer treatment. And today on Henry Ford Health System News,
we're celebrating the grand opening of the Henry Ford Cancer Institutes brand
new home here in Detroit.
The 187,000 square foot facility is now open to
patients after a socially distant grand opening event and a whole lot of
hard work.
To the hundreds of our team members that have spent hours,
days, and years to get us to this point. Simply, thank you.
None of it would have been possible either without.
A supportive community and.
Generous donors,
including Detroit native and local philanthropist and entrepreneur, Mort Harris.
It's one of the happiest things that have happened in my life.
I was able to bring some happiness to the remembrance of my darling wife.
My dear, wonderful wife, Brigitte.
Among the features of the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion are specialty clinics
for 14 different types of cancer, a clinical trials office,
and a precision medicine program that recognizes that while two people may have
the same type of cancer,
no two patients respond to treatment exactly the same way.
We're actually able to leverage clinical trials and precision medicine
options to better enhance our treatment for our patients
custom fit to their needs so we can optimize outcomes.
The radiation oncology clinic and treatment center provides some of the most
advanced radiation therapy options.
A clinical trials office gives patients access to the newest treatments.
Patients will find every expert they need all in one place.
And it's not just physicians.
It's everyone from the people making appointments and coordinating care to the
nurse navigators, dieticians, social workers,
psych oncologists on and on.
Now let's talk about some other experts who paid close attention to the little
things that make a big difference. Ceremonial bell ringer,
Deidra Moody is a breast cancer survivor and a former Henry Ford
Cancer Institute Patient.
Henry Ford made me feel comfortable.
And as a member of the patient family advisory council,
that's what she wanted to do for others.
The council is made up of about 20 members who provided feedback to the Henry
Ford team designing the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion.
We had an opportunity to talk about the furniture. We talked aboutthe food.
We talked about the painting.
On the wall. The council is responsible for the color scheme,
a serene beach like palette with pops of ocean blues.
You'll notice something missing from waiting areas,
televisions because the patient advisors say TV is too much when
you just want to quiet your mind.
The marketplace is stocked with comfort food the council requested and
positioned in the building so that aromas can be sealed off.
Most people know when you go through cancer, you know, uh, sometimes smells, uh,
nausea from a smells.
Diedra says the most important thing to her were the chairs.
I just felt like at the other facility I had attended the chairs were horrible.
So you'll find really good ones all over the building.
The patient and family advisors made sure the team paid special attention to the
furniture in the infusion room where floor to ceiling windows connect patients
to the outside world.
Individual pods allow patients and guests to settle in during a chemo
treatment. I was like, wow. It, it looks, it feels like home.
Patients may never know that this building was designed in part by people who
have walked a similar path, but maybe they'll feel it.
We did this just for you and this wonderful to be a part of something where
somebody did something just for you.
Henry Ford has 14 patient family advisory councils that work on a range
of things that are important to both physicians and patients.
[Inaudible].
That's a sampling from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra who helped us with the
grand opening ceremony. You know,
we won't be able to fit all of those musicians here in the building,
but they are among the performers who will be contributing to our healing arts
program here at the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion.
There is art throughout this building,
including these two eye-catching pieces in the atrium.
Above the elevator, a sculpture by artist, Kevin Cole,
whose work also appears at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Dangling carefully nearby is a mobile designed by a Detroit artist who lives
just a few blocks away. The figures look like birds, or maybe butterflies.
The idea is the patient's mind wanders off their troubles.
We spend some time with the creator to learn about his process.
I've always been a strange kind of artist.
Like I never was really that interested in being in like typical gallery spaces.
I call my outfit,
Animist Studios and animism is an outlook that thinks that
everything is alive. The things that we make with our hands, you know,
be something that has a life.
It's inspired by my recent journey to Columbia.
It was really a beautiful experience. And I ended up, uh,
volunteering on this organic cacao farm and staying there for two
months.
I was really excited to bring some of that magic here to Detroit.
So it's a mobile, it hangs from one single anchor point and there's, um,
probably going to be like 15 points of articulation where the whole piece itself
in its entirety can move, but each element can, can also move.
Every square inch of these seeds and these wings are, you know,
has ever been hit with a hammer to form it.
I like things to have like a very organic kind of form .To me it celebrates life
and aliveness. So it's seeds, it's, um,
it's birds carrying seeds.
I kind of did everything I could to you know imbue it with my recent experience
there.
I think with the sculpture,
I'm doing my best to convey aliveness like that symbiosis that happens in nature
to me is like one of the most beautiful and inspiring things in the world.
Right?
And it's being a place that people are going through this really intense healing
journey. I just felt it would be such an honor to be that person, you know,
that gets to, to make something to gaze up at in awe and wonder,
you know,
and I feel like that's one of my goals as an artist is to kinda like help,
you know, guide guide the path towards awe and wonder.
Finally, the featured photo.
Take a look at just a few of the smiling faces that greeted some of our
very first patients here.
Folks here wanted to make sure patients were able to navigate the new building.
So they asked team members to volunteer,
to help our guests find their way around .More than 50 team members answered the
call. A big thanks to everyone who helped out.
And thank you for watching Henry Ford Health System News.
We're always looking for great stories about our team members.
So send them our way.
You can email us at newstips@hfhs.org.
I'm Dana Jay and I'll see you around.