Staff members Deneka Deletetsky, left, and Cheryl Ramsey, seen in 2020, sit in a meeting room at the Dempsey Center in Lewiston. They helped paint messages of hope on the windows in advance of the 2020 Dempsey Challenge. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal File

LEWISTON — The Dempsey Center is opening a third facility at the new Rock Row medical campus in Westbrook that is under construction, according to a news release issued by the organization.

Painted windows in 2020 at the Dempsey Center in Lewiston offer messages of hope for cancer survivors, their families and friends. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Like the center in Lewiston, the new one will also provide counseling, integrative therapies and comfort programs to people with cancer, according to the release. The new facility will have natural elements and a neutral color palette.

“We are excited about co-locating our team in a space designed specifically for our needs,” Dempsey Center CEO Cara Valentino said in the release.

Being on the Rock Row campus will allow the center to better collaborate with other medical providers there. “This new facility will allow us to continue our programs and introduce new opportunities for our clients to experience healing,” she said.

In 2023, the center’s clients made 23,000 visits to its locations in Lewiston, South Portland and virtually, according to spokesperson Katelynn Davis. Visits have been rapidly increasing since 2020 and center staff expect the trend to continue. With the expansion, staff hope to better serve the larger number of clients.

The Dempsey Center will join a few other medical centers that have secured space on the 179,365-square-foot medical campus, according to the release, which will also include a 20,000-square-foot free standing health services building. Construction on the campus is expected to be completed by early 2025.

“Rock Row’s vision of an integrated medical community aligns perfectly with our holistic approach,” Valentino said in the release. “The opportunity to create a healing environment that brings nature inside and offers ample space for our programs was incredibly compelling.”

The Lewiston center at 29 Lowell St., is in a building owned by Central Maine Healthcare, which listed the building for sale earlier this year. It is still listed with Portland-based The Dunham Group.

In January, center staff said there were no plans to move out of the building. The center will continue to partner with Central Maine Healthcare and it has ensured the center that its lease extends beyond the sale of the building, Davis said Tuesday. The center will continue to work with Central Maine Healthcare to identify the best locations for serving in the Lewiston/Auburn community.

“We have been in Lewiston since our very first day and have a strong commitment to the community,” she said. “We will always be here to serve people in Lewiston/Auburn who have been impacted by cancer.”

The Dempsey Center was established in 2008 by actor Patrick Dempsey, who is from the Lewiston area, and his family. The center also hosts the Dempsey Challenge, an annual run/walk and biking event, to raise money for the center. This year’s challenge is scheduled for Sept. 21 in Lewiston. There is also a virtual participation option.