OLEAN, N.Y. – Local residents seeking quality cancer care may be
able to receive treatment a little closer to home these days.
Southern Tier Cancer Care, a new state-of-the-art cancer
treatment clinic in Olean under the direction of a Roswell Park
Cancer Institute-trained oncologist Neeta Soni, M.D., offers
services previously unheard of locally, according to office
administrator Sunil Soni.
Sunil Soni, husband of Neeta Soni and a medical doctor himself
employed by the U.S. Army, showed The Era around the new facility
Monday. Located at 328 W. Delaware Ave., the clinic building used
to be a warehouse, he said.
An architect from India designed the inside of the clinic, he
went on, saying the interior is completely new.
Sunil Soni said the clinic offers state-of-the-art technology,
including positive air flow and HEPA filters for the entire
chemotherapy wing, which includes 10 chairs.
A positive air flow facility helps protect cancer patients,
whose immunities are very low, from infection from outside germs
and viruses by constantly moving air out of the facility. The use
of a positive air flow room or wing is relatively rare in the area,
he said, adding the Olean General Hospital does not offer one.
Neeta Soni, who previously practiced at Bradford (Pa.) Regional
Medical Center, helped initiate the use of the positive air flow
room at BRMC today, her husband said.
Neeta Soni, the full-time oncologist at the new clinic, is board
certified in medical oncology and completed extensive training at
Roswell Park in Buffalo. As such, the clinic if officially
affiliated with Roswell, and Soni is certified to run protocols
from that facility. Some patients currently being treated at
Roswell and who live in the area have already been referred to
Southern Tier Cancer Care, Sunil Soni said Monday.
Another service offered only by the new clinic, he said, is the
inclusion of CBC (blood count) and chemical analysis right there.
Typically, he said, a patient would have to go to a hospital for
those two services and then on to another location to receive the
actual chemotherapy or other treatment. At Southern Tier Cancer
Care, everything the patient needs is in-house – an oddity for
private practices, Soni said.
There are three exam rooms at the clinic, two standard and one
specialized for bone marrow testing. There is a consultation room,
where the doctor and nurses can talk with the patient and his or
her family about treatments and options. The clinic also offers the
services of a business office administrator, who can act as a
liaison, helping patients with no insurance find funds for
treatments, medications and transportation, which can be very
expensive.
In some cases, Sunil Soni said, one dose of medicine can cost
$10,000. Southern Tier Cancer Care’s Mandy Bushnell can help finds
avenues to defray those costs.
Also at the clinic are four registered nurses – Kathleen Booth,
Leighanna Miller, also an OCN, a nurse who has attained basic
oncology certification, focusing on adult care, Carrie Elliott and
Shannon Barr – and one licensed practical nurse, Vanessa Learns.
Melissa Burkett is the medical receptionist.
Looking more like a ranch-style home than a medical facility, at
the clinic’s center is a Brahmasthan, or “heart or light of the
house,” Sunil Soni said. He explained in old-fashioned Indian
homes, the central location is a place of meditation. The clinic’s
Brahmasthan features a large sky light and decorative plants,
providing a quiet, natural-looking place for the patients to relax
or reflect.
The chemotherapy room offers six chairs in an open room in
addition to three private rooms. The clinic is much larger than
other local private practices, Soni said, boasting about 3,700
square feet compared to a typical facility of 1,000 to 1,500 square
feet. Talking about the clinic’s isolated location, Soni emphasized
they utilize a three-level security system with cameras and motion
detectors to prevent the theft of the expensive medications, many
of which are narcotics.
The Sonis tried to achieve “maximum comfort” for their patients,
he said, adding they talked with their patients through the
clinic’s design process, asking the patients what they would like
to see employed.
They wanted “light and lots and lots of windows,” he said. So,
they had several windows incorporated – at least eight on each
side.
Teresa of Bolivar, a patient at the clinic Monday, said she was
very impressed with the treatment she receives at Southern Tier
Cancer Care.
“They take good care of you; keep an eye on you,” Theresa said,
adding “Dr. (Neeta) Soni explains things so I can understand
it.”
Services offered at the clinic include evaluation and
consultation, treatment, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, pain
management, supportive care, education and bone marrow
biopsies.
