MercyOne Launches Campaign for the Richard Deming Cancer Center

Des Moines, Iowa, March 2, 2020 – Today, MercyOne announces the launch of the fundraising campaign for the Richard Deming Cancer Center at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. The campaign will create a center of excellence at the downtown Des Moines campus, encompassing multidisciplinary, patient-centered compassionate cancer care for all Iowans in need.

The $16-million fundraising campaign – initiated by a generous lead gift of $2 million from the Comfort Family Foundation – will realize this vision and honor MercyOne Des Moines Cancer Center Medical Director Richard L. Deming, M.D. He is widely known as a Des Moines community leader, philanthropist and national leader in cancer care, survivorship, advocacy and research, who has served for more than 30 years as a MercyOne radiation oncologist. To date, $10 million has been raised to the $16 million Campaign goal.

“The MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center will deepen our mission of serving the most vulnerable Iowans in need with high-quality, patient-centered care,” said MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center Board Chair and MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center Campaign Co-Chair Suku Radia.

“This is one of the most important campaigns our community has ever launched, as we spearhead cutting-edge care in a compassionate, healing manner that treats our patients holistically.”

The Campaign focuses on three priorities:

1. Comprehensive, Multidisciplinary Patient-Centered Care: In this evidence-based model, the patient is always the primary focus. It is our goal – within 48 hours to one week of referral – for the patient to meet all specialists involved in care in one centralized location. A coordinator will help patients navigate care and serve as a dedicated and consistent point of contact for referrals, weekly schedules and more. The Richard Deming Cancer Center will be the first cancer center in central Iowa to adopt this model.
2. Cutting-Edge Innovation and Research: MercyOne Des Moines Cancer Center is currently a leader in research and innovation. We currently participate in more than 50 clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, and we will continue to stay on the cusp of cutting edge advancements through more clinical trials and enhanced technologies to facilitate more interactive tumor board meetings among our provider teams. We will be a leader in precision medicine, an approach that allows physicians to prescribe personalized treatments based on genetic testing. MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center has made a $4.5 million investment to purchase a new CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery device, the only device of its type in Iowa which offers non-invasive, personalized, robotic radiotherapy treatment to deliver precise doses of radiation with extreme accuracy.
3. Compassionate Care: A hallmark of Dr. Deming’s healing cancer ministry is compassionate care, an approach to medicine that treats the entire patient in addition to the disease. Included in this priority is the addition of nurse navigators to guide patients through every step of their treatment; expansion of comprehensive palliative care that provides quality of life-enhancing services for patients with incurable cancer; nurturing integrative medicine services including acupuncture, meditation, massage therapy, music therapy and art therapy; and expansion of our survivorship program, which helps patients optimize their post-treatment health and wellness.

“The need for this cancer center is imminent, as this year, cancer is expected to surpass heart disease as the leading cause of death for the first time and claim an estimated 6,400 Iowan lives. This center will address our community’s health needs as we treat our patients’ minds, bodies and spirits,” said Steve Chapman, Campaign for the Richard Deming Cancer Center Co-Chair.

Visit MercyOne.org/give/richard-deming-cancer-center for more information.