HEALTH CARE AUBURN — A conversation over dinner five years ago led to the opening of the new $15 million Upstate Cancer Center at Auburn Community Hospital. Scott Berlucchi, president and CEO of Auburn Community Hospital, shared the story during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday outside the new cancer center, which opened this spring. Berlucchi was among the attendees at that dinner where the idea to build a cancer center in Auburn was born.
"At the end of the day, that's how it all starts," he said. "If you have a vision, you can execute on it." The advice Berlucchi received was that he needed to find an architect and a developer.
Once he had both, the project could begin. The important piece, though, was the collaboration with Upstate University Hospital. Both hospitals have been linked for years, but the relationship grew during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Robert Corona, CEO of Upstate University Hospital, recalled that when Auburn needed assistance in its intensive care unit, the Syracuse hospital sent doctors. Upstate has provided support in other areas, including infectious diseases and surgery.
The goal isn't to take over, Corona said, but to help Auburn. The new cancer center is the latest example. "I see this as a continued collaboration.
.. This is just absolutely beautiful and we hope to have a long-term relationship with Auburn for many, many years to come," he added.
The construction of the cancer center in Auburn builds on Upstate's expanding services in centr.
