The Rock of Hope campaign was created with the goal to bring comprehensive, world-class cancer care to the community in Castle Rock and on June 20, AdventHealth Castle Rock took that next step.
Following a $5 million donation by the Schrader Family, the largest donation in AdventHealth Castle Rock foundation history, the Palmer Building was officially renamed the Schrader Building.
“I just have joy in my heart about it,” said AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region CFO and former AdventHealth Castle Rock CEO Jeremy Pittman. “I'm just so proud of all the teams that have been involved in this community. This is one of the last puzzle pieces that Castle Rock truly needs.”
Once completed, the Schrader Building will bring radiation therapy, chemotherapy, infusion therapy, a learning kitchen, and much more to the community under one roof.
Currently, residents of Castle Rock and the surrounding communities must travel outside the area for their cancer treatments, but in late 2025 can begin their road to recovery close to home.
“Seeing the support of the community and knowing that cancer care is going to become a reality, that's what today means,” said Randy Schrader. “Up until this point in time, it's been a bit of a figment of my imagination and other people's imaginations, but you start to see the rubber hitting the road.”
As of June 2024, the Rock of Hope campaign has raised over 55% of the $14 million needed to complete the project. The team will begin building on the third floor and will continue to look for donors to complete construction on the radiation section of the Schrader Building.
“There is still a lot of work to do. It’s getting to the radiation, getting the staff in place, all the things that need to happen to treat that very first patient,” said Lisa Schrader. “We hope that happens as fast as possible, but we understand that can't happen tomorrow. So, we're going to watch that and keep pushing forward to get this whole project finished as soon as possible.”
As part of the building dedication, the Leadership Douglas County cohort in collaboration with local Castle Rock artist, Maya Celeste, donated a beautiful butterfly portrait that will be displayed in the Schrader Building.
The project is titled “The Value of Transformation” and there are 24 butterflies in total on the picture. 23 of the butterflies represent, and are painted by, each member of the Leadership Douglas County cohort. The final butterfly represents the patient and is painted by Maya.
Every member of the cohort, along with the artist herself, has been impacted by cancer in some way in their lives. This piece is meant to give patients a moment to consider their own spectrum of support and the positive impact it has in their own lives.
AdventHealth Castle Rock hopes to see their first patient in the new cancer care center by late 2025.
Click here if you would like to donate to the Rock of Hope campaign.
