Gift Turns Chicago Convent Into Cancer Treatment Center
(CBS) -- Cancer patients will soon have access to a state-of-the art treatment center on Chicago's West Side.
As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, it was made possible by a generous gift from nuns.
It was hard for Sister Ann Marie Cwick to believe her eyes as she toured the Center for Cancer and Specialty Care at St. Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center.
The building once served as a convent for Cwick and other Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
As their numbers dwindled, the nuns decided to give their home to the hospital with the hope of helping others.
"We were concerned, the sisters, when we were leaving and would our mission continue?" she says.
Enter Presence Health and a $12 million make-over. The result: a facility where cancer can be diagnosed and treated in one place.
"We are a safety-net provider, so we treat a number underserved communities and underserved patients from the West Side of Chicago and throughout Chicagoland," Presence's Stonish Pierce says.
Those patients will benefit from the latest cancer-fighting technology, including a linear accelerator.
In addition to cancer treatment, the center will also offer community resources, including wig fittings, makeup lessons, and support groups, in space that was the chapel for the convent.
"We're being blessed, and it's going to be passed on from generation to generation," Sister Ann Marie says.
The center will start seeing a few patients next week. The grand opening is scheduled for February. Officials expect to treat about 5,000 patients within the first year.