Federal Appropriation for Cancer Center Received (December 3, 2003)

Bart Stupak (D-Menominee)

(Marinette, Wis.) - A project built on a regional partnership and has significant local impact received a huge financial boost from the federal government on Tuesday when the Bay Area Cancer Care Center learned that their request for a 2004-budget appropriation was secured.

U.S. Reps. Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) and Mark Green (R-Green Bay) announced that they were successful in securing $750,000 in a sizable year-end spending bill Congress is poised to pass early next week. The funds will be used to upgrade the Cancer Center’s current medical oncology equipment, construct a new state-of-the-art radiation therapy room, and update existing patient examining rooms.

The Bay Area Cancer Care Center operates as a partnership between Bay Area Medical Center (BAMC) in Marinette, Wis./Menominee, Mich., and St. Vincent’s Hospital in Green Bay, Wis. The facility provides centralized care for cancer patients in northeastern Wisconsin and northern Michigan, combining radiation, chemotherapy and other therapies under one roof.

Mark Green (R-Green Bay)

“For over 10 years, cancer patients in our area have looked to the Center to get the high-quality care they need,” Green said. “It’s a vital part of our health care system, and we have an obligation to make sure it has the tools and technology necessary to give folks a fighting chance against this terrible illness.”

“The most hopeful thing about the Cancer Care Center is that when cancer does strike a local family, they can be confident that the patient can stay in Marinette-Menominee and receive top notch, supportive local care without the expense and stress of traveling to Green Bay, Marshfield or Milwaukee,” Stupak said. “It’s good for families, patients, and the entire community. Local support and fundraising has been amazing already, and I am glad we were able to add this federal money to the local effort.”

The appropriations request began earlier in the year and involved working closely with not only the two congressional offices, but with the U.S. senators from both states as well, according to BAMC Foundation Director Nancy Douglas.

“The first step was for us to make the case for the appropriation to both congressmen,” Douglas explained. “We recognized that their offices get many requests, but we really felt that this project had all the earmarks of one that deserved consideration.”

As with anything in the political arena, the process took a number of twists and turns as it moved towards the final votes. “We had great staff contacts in the local offices of both congressmen as well as those of the senators,” said David Olson, President and CEO of Bay Area Medical Center. “Its gratifying to see how accessible both Congressmen Green and Stupak made themselves when they were in the district or out in Washington DC,” Olson said. “It was obvious they had both made this project a high priority. “

The appropriation has put the Cancer Care fundraising effort over the $2 million mark, according to Foundation Board Chairman Alton ‘Rick’ Berquist. “We are gratified that our community has stepped up and found a way to make this expansion a reality,” Berquist said. “Bay Area Medical Center is a place where our two communities come together and nothing demonstrates that better than the efforts of Congressmen Green and Stupak on this project.”

According to Stupak, the congressmen may not be finished. The original Cancer Care appropriation request was for $1.2 million dollars. “Mark and I will work closely together on next year’s bill to secure the remaining portion of the total we asked for this year,” Stupak said. “The $750,000 is a great start.”