Patients in the foothills region served by the new Folsom Medical Care Clinic can now get cancer care close to home.
The three-story, 114,000-square-foot building is the first on the new Folsom Center for Health campus. It consolidates three existing UC Davis Health facilities in Folsom and adds additional services. The expansive facility offers a large state-of-the-art infusion center. There are also expanded radiology services, including MRI, CT and contrast-enhanced mammography.
“This is a historic moment for health care in our region,” said Chief Medical Officer for Ambulatory Care Debbie Aizenberg. “This will become a one-stop shop for many patients as they navigate between their primary care, specialty care, imaging and labs, and it will allow for better collaboration among providers.”
Designed for healing
The clinic’s design reflects a strong connection to nature and healing.Each area of the light-filled building is themed around different native plants, such as sunflowers, milkweed, lupine and poppies. Artwork fills the space, including photographs by the clinic director.
“Everything is laid out so wonderfully. The colors are vibrant. Every different area that you go to, it’s a different color, it’s a different flower,” said Christina Bachman, a mammographer who has been working at UC Davis Health in Folsom for 17 years. She’s thrilled with the new building. “They put a lot of thought into how they wanted this place to look, and it really shows.”
Patients and staff can take a break or share a meal at the outdoor tables, and children can enjoy a new playground outside the facility. Infusion center patients can look out onto a healing garden reflecting the natural biome of the area while receiving treatment.
Bernice Ann Cruz is a clinical nurse who works in adult infusion at the Folsom Medical Care Clinic. She says the new location is especially helpful for cancer patients in the region.
“Driving home from the treatment can be tiring, and patients are fatigued,” she explained. “It will be very beneficial to have this infusion center closer to home so they can travel less.”
New UC Davis Health C Street Clinic adds to expanded infusion services
New infusion services are also now located at the UC Davis Health C Street Clinic in East Sacramento. The facility features a spa-like atmosphere with calming colors and a thoughtful design that is soothing and protects privacy. There are two private rooms and 12 semi-private infusion bays.
Additionally, the C Street location is now home to the cancer center’s Breast Cancer Survivorship Clinic. The clinic addresses mental wellness, physical functioning, fertility, nutrition and other issues for breast cancer survivors. It is open to all breast cancer survivors.
First full-time oncologist based in Folsom
Kanishka Patel is the first full-time oncologist to be based in Folsom. Patel is a hematologist and oncologist who brings a deep commitment to compassionate, personalized care for patients facing blood disorders and cancer. She has a special interest in breast cancer and is passionate about helping patients feel supported and informed throughout their treatment journey.
Patel grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and studied neuroscience and religion at Swarthmore College. She later spent a year at the National Institutes of Health researching how certain molecules work in the body. She earned her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and completed her training in internal medicine and hematology/oncology at UC Davis School of Medicine.
During her time at UC Davis, Patel was involved in research related to COVID-19 and cancer and was honored with an Excellence in Teaching award. She also served as chief fellow in her final year of training. Her clinical interests include breast, urinary and reproductive system cancers.
Patel believes in working as a team — with nurses, pharmacists, social workers and other specialists — to make sure every patient receives complete and thoughtful care. She stays up to date with the latest treatments and she takes the time to create care plans that are tailored to each person’s unique needs.
At UC Davis Health in Folsom, Patel looks forward to building strong relationships with patients and their families, expanding access to care and helping improve cancer outcomes in the community.
