-By Adam Figman

Pocono Medical Center, an acute-care hospital in East Stroudsburg, Pa. hopes to add a 59,000 sq.-ft cancer center in the next two years.  Philadelphia-based architect and interior design company EwingCole has unveiled the design plans this month for the building that is slated to open in 2012

The center, which will spring up a few hundred yards from the currently-in-use Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center, will keep all cancer-related operations, including hematology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, oncology surgeons and ancillary support services, close to one another. With all of the cancer services under one roof, it should be easier and more effective to help patients who require different forms and types of treatments.

The center will have two stories, and those involved are hoping to break ground by the end of the year.  Once the new facility is set to open, the former one will be knocked down and used as a parking lot.

EwingCole has plenty of experience with healthcare facilities, as the company has done work for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, AtlantiCare Cancer Institute, and the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in the past.