Northern California to see new $380M cancer center

Citing a goal to expand more specialty care options in California’s Central Valley, Sutter Health has unveiled plans for a $380 million cancer center in Modesto.

The health system is planning to construct a four-story cancer building on the Sutter Memorial Medical Center campus. Sutter says the building is slated to open in 2028 or 2029.

Sutter Health says the new project coincides with plans to open 27 new ambulatory care centers by 2027. The California-based health system is also investing more than $400 million on a host of initiatives to expand care in and around San Francisco.

Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Sutter Health, says the health system is moving ahead to provide healthcare services that are needed in the region. And he said the Modesto project reflects the health system's broader ambitions.

“This investment—one of our biggest yet—is all about meeting the real needs of people in the Central Valley,” Thomas said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be working alongside our physician partners to bring top-notch cancer care and surgical services to Modesto in this new, state-of-the-art facility.”

The first two floors of the cancer center will offer space for clinic visits, infusion and radiation therapy, a laboratory, and pharmacy. The third floor will be dedicated to an ambulatory surgery center, with four operating rooms. The fourth floor will be designed for outpatient clinics and offer more than 50 exam rooms.

The cancer center is being planned in collaboration with Gould Medical Group physicians. The medical group plans to hire more than 40 clinicians for the cancer center and ambulatory surgery center, and 11 additional clinicians for outpatient services.

Sutter Health foresees increasing demand in oncology services, with projections of an additional 8,000 people being diagnosed with cancer in the Central Valley region by 2037.

“This is just one step in our plan to offer the highest quality care available in every community we serve and a major step forward in meeting the evolving needs of our Central Valley communities,” Thomas wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

Dr. Steven Hao, chief medical officer of Sutter Service Lines, said the new cancer center will be an important component of the system’s oncology services.

“Our patients will benefit from the best practices, collaboration and coordination between the cancer specialists across our network who are continually focused on high-quality, equitable patient outcomes, helping ensure that our patients get our very best, every day, no matter what door they enter,” Hao said in a statement.

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Much of California’s recent population growth has come in the Central Valley, according to the California Department of Finance. Modesto, a city of 218,000, has added 30,000 new residents since 2000.

Dr. Robert Altman, president and CEO of Gould Medical Group, said the demographics underscore the need for expanded cancer services, as well as more doctors.

“The Central Valley is experiencing considerable growth and is forecasted for more,” Altman said in a statement. “Additional physicians in our community will contribute to achieving our mission to offer integrated, top-quality care across the region.”

Sutter Health operates 22 hospitals in northern California, along with 11 cancer centers and 33 ambulatory surgery centers.

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