Carissa Rivinius

Spring Semester

Service Project

Employer Service Project

I had the opportunity to participate in the Bismarck Cancer Centers open house as they

have been working on expanding their facility for over 2 years now. The capital campaign

statement while going through this transition was “healing for today, building hope for

tomorrow.” The Bismarck Cancer Center’s goal is to provide the newest technology with all the

support services needed throughout a patient’s cancer journey to give them the greatest patient

care experience. To achieve this, they had to expand their facility to accommodate the increase in

patient load and employment in the last few years. Adding many advancements such as a third

machine and upgrading the other two machines to help with patient load and time efficiency. A

second floor was added onto the building as the number of employees has increased significantly

to keep up with the quality of patient care they strive to achieve. The addition also included new

exam rooms, a special procedure room, expanded conference room, and another CT scanner.

Many employees gained office space as some of the employees previously were working offsite

but now everyone is under the same roof again. There are several support services offered at the

Bismarck Cancer Center such as a dietary counseling, massage therapy, survivorship care plans,

lodging and transportation services, financial assistance, support groups, physical therapy, art

therapy, emotional and spiritual counseling, and early detection and screening. With the

expansion it helps to accommodate all the services provided.

 When the day came that the Bismarck Cancer Center could open its doors to the

community to share the new advancements they had been working so hard on for many years,

everyone was so overjoyed. Seeing a place go from making it work with the space they had using

every inch to accommodate everyone and still give quality patient care to gaining the space they

needed was enlightening. There was a lot of background work going on when expanding a

facility that was very eye opening to me. From needing more parking spaces for employees, to

the calibration of the new machines and integrating them with the treatment planning system, to

all the detail embellishments with the décor around the facility. The list is extensive and does not

go without sacrifice as many employees worked late hours to make this happen and ensure all

was working appropriately before putting into practice. Everyone knew it would be worth the

challenge to be able to provide the newest treatment technology to the community around us. All

of this was not possible without coming together and truly working as a team and I honestly

believe this place did just that.

During the night of the open house Amy Gross the CEO of the Bismarck Cancer Center,

the Mayor of Bismarck; Steve Bakken, and Melissa Klein (the lead construction manager for this

project) all spoke about what this expansion has gained for the cancer center and the Bismarck

community. They also talked about how this project would not have happened without the

support from the community and I couldn’t agree more. The financial support was overwhelming

and there are dedicated rooms throughout the entire facility dedicated to the people who gave

monumental donations. A ribbon cutting ceremony was also performed that evening. We could

truly see it in everyone’s eyes the night of the open house how this place is going to make a

difference for so many. Being a part of that evening and giving tours of the new building was a
heartwarming experience. There was staff from every department at this open house to talk about

what they do every day here at the Bismarck Cancer Center.

Several past patients came through that evening and you could see how they truly

enjoyed listening to everyone talk about their roles at this facility and what all goes into giving

them their treatments. They were very appreciative of the opportunity to tour the whole facility

and see what goes on behind the scenes. Especially in the career field of dosimetry as many

people did not know what that really entailed. You could see everything coming full circle for

past patients and their family members as the whole process was explained to them from walking

in the front doors the first day they came for a consult to the last day of their treatment. It was a

great experience to be a part of showing our community what we do on a daily basis and that we

are here to help all who need us.

A cancer diagnosis is not convenient or enjoyable but being able to provide the utmost

quality of care with the newest technology and sharing that with our community gives me hope

that we can help put patients at ease during this difficult and scary time in their lives.

The following link is to the Bismarck Cancer Centers Capital Campaign page.

https://www.bismarckcancercenter.com/capital-campaign-building-hope/

A few pictures from the night of the open house are found below.
 Amy Gross-CEO
of the Bismarck
Cancer Center
talking about the
expansion to the
community that
came for the tour
that evening

*Thank you bags were also handed out to all who came to see the expansion
Melissa Klein-Radiation Manager and Leader of the construction project

Charity and I showing/explaining what we do as dosimetrists to the community

A couple of the donation walls and rooms
Dr. Kreofsky Dr. Reynolds Dr. Watkins
**Each doctor at our facility gave a donation to sponsor an exam room