Shaw Cancer Center Celebrates 25 Years of Prioritizing the Whole Patient
Harold and Mary Louise Shaw already played a large role in Eagle County when they approached their doctor, Jack Eck, about what they could do for the community. After losing their son to a car accident just south of Fairplay, the Shaws contributed to Vail Health Hospital’s growth by donating funds for a new wing and serving on the hospital board. However, they wanted to do more, so Dr. Eck pointed them to cancer care in the valley.
At the time, the number of cancer patients was rising in the valley, but there was nowhere to go between Denver and Salt Lake City. In 2001, the Shaw Cancer Center opened with the aid of a $17 million contribution from the Shaw family. Twenty-five years later, the center has made significant progress as a high-quality practice in the Central Rockies.
The center offers a vast range of services for oncology care — screenings, therapies, surgeries, support groups, coordination of appointments, and counseling, to name a few. The center has received a gold accreditation from the Commission on Cancer, which is the highest recognition for quality of care from the professional organization.
Kim Sharkey, the director of oncology operations, has been at Shaw for 15 years and said that in the early years of the center, they introduced a “whole-person” approach to care, a healthcare model that looks beyond isolated symptoms, treating a person as a complete individual. Included in their care are services like dietitians, psychosocial support and an exercise clinic — something that Sharkey said is not in standard practice with cancer care.
“We like to think as a community cancer center, we are leading … across the country with some innovation,” she said.
