UHealth Celebrates Doral Satellite Opening

Facility includes cancer care from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Expanding its reach to serve more of South Florida’s communities, UHealth – University of Miami Health System launched a satellite location to care for patients in Doral. The September 12 opening marks the launch of the first phase of a two-phase project, which will culminate in 2024 with a six-story, 150,000-square-foot multidisciplinary UHealth facility modeled after the health system’s flagship Lennar Foundation Medical Center in Coral Gables.

Phase One of the Doral project, now open, includes an 18,000-square-foot facility at 8333 Northwest 53rd Street in Downtown Doral. The site currently offers services in urology from Desai Sethi Urology Institute specialists, and a broad array of cancer services from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“Opening this facility in Doral allows us to deliver more UHealth specialties to our patients in this growing area,” said Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., chief operating officer for UHealth and founding director of Desai Sethi Urology Institute. “We want to make access to academic-based health care easier across South Florida, and this facility is evidence of our commitment to that goal. We’re especially pleased to offer the variety of services, from urology and cancer from our Sylvester physicians.”

Sylvester, the region’s only NCI-designated and nationally ranked cancer center, offers services at the new site including hematology oncology, medical oncology, stem cell transplantation, and melanoma and cutaneous oncology, and amenities such as private infusion bays for patients undergoing chemotherapy. The centrally located site has an attached parking garage and easily accessible patient drop-off area.

“Serving patients where they live is especially important for our Sylvester patients,” said Raja Mudad, M.D., medical director of the Doral satellite and a thoracic medical oncologist at Sylvester. “This is the ninth satellite — from Deerfield Beach to Kendall — delivering cancer care where patients live, so families don’t have to drive long distances while a patient is feeling unwell.”

Building satellite locations is about improving the South Florida community’s access to quality cancer care and research trials, according to Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., director of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Oscar de la Renta Endowed Chair in Cancer Research.

“Phase One of the Doral satellite makes quality cancer treatment closer to home possible for Doral residents, who can come to us for chemotherapy, to get a second or third opinion, and more,” Dr. Nimer said. “Dr. Mudad, a specialist in lung cancer, will be joined in Doral with a team of established cancer care experts in medical oncology, melanoma and other skin cancers, blood cancers, and stem cell transplant.”

Sylvester is the only cancer center in South Florida designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI); the only cancer center in South Florida nationally ranked in U.S. News & World Report 2022-2023 Best Hospitals for Cancer; and South Florida’s only academic cancer center, as part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Sylvester, which employs more than 2,400 physicians, researchers, and staff, is also one of the top cancer research facilities in South Florida, as one of the few to offer a phase 1 clinical trials program.

Meeting Different Communities’ Needs

Doral is a unique and growing community, which Dr. Mudad describes as three communities in one.

“There is a growing residential population, a strong corporate presence, and Doral has a strong international draw,” he said. “We are bringing the best of academia and NCI designation with our cutting-edge technologies and access to clinical trials, to help support all three of those communities.”

Dr. Parekh added, “This is just the start of UHealth’s footprint in Doral. With the larger facility going up next door, patients will have even greater access to our specialists, from cardiology to neurology and more.”

Careers: Are you interested in joining the team at our upcoming location in Doral?
Explore our open positions here.

Tags: Downtown Doral, Dr. Raja Mudad, Dr. Stephen Nimer, Lennar Foundation Medical Center, Miller School of Medicine, National Cancer Institute, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, U.S. News and World Report, UHealth