UNC Will Continue Cancer Center Plans

Jeffrey Houpt, dean of the UNC School of Medicine, said planning for the center will continue as normal and then be evaluated when the legislature's next session begins in January.

"We will continue design for the center and then go back in January and see where the interest level is," Houpt said. "We'll definitely take the center back to them if there is interest."

Houpt said most legislators recognized the need for the new center but simply could not allocate the necessary funds at this time.

"Everyone involved was very receptive of the idea," he said. "They all recognized the cancer center as worthy but simply couldn't spend any more money."

Kevin Fitzgerald, UNC's lobbying coordinator, said the need for the treatment center is clear.

Officials have said the current facility, the N.C. Clinical Cancer Center, is outdated and too small to accommodate demand.

"The current space is inadequate and cannot continue to accept more patients and traffic growth," he said. "It's good that the new cancer center has been recognized as a need of UNC's Hospitals systems."

Fitzgerald attributed the rejection to the last-minute addition of the treatment center provision into an economic incentives bill.

Some legislators expressed concerns that the session might end before the proposal could be given adequate consideration.

"The idea was not rejected in terms of the actual idea but because it was added to the bill at the last minute," Fitzgerald said.

Houpt echoed Fitzgerald's sentiments and pointed to the state budget crisis as one probable cause of the center's rejection.

"There is simply no funding source at the present time," he said. "By the time the budget problems were settled, there was no money available for the cancer center."

Houpt said the treatment center has been in various stages of planning for three to four years.

The new center was approved 18 months ago by the Healthcare Center Board.

He said those working at the cancer center will have to remain upbeat and do their best to accommodate patients despite the lack of room.

"We have no other choice but to continue on."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.