New cancer center going full-steam ahead

LIMA - Dr. David Powell has engineered a new cancer care center for Lima. And he takes the engineer part seriously.

Powell opened his new Cancer Care of West Central Ohio on Thursday. The Market Street office is his second Lima location and a chance to show off his passions, medicine and, oddly enough, trains.

The new center, located behind the American Mall on Market Street, is decorated in full train motif, including paintings, prints and plans, all loco-related.

"Trains are a part of our history that, really, a lot of people don't think about. Plus, it makes things a little more interesting for people. It gives them something to look at," Powell said.

There is plenty to look at in the office. The waiting room imitates a passenger train station waiting room with artifacts and historic Lima photos borrowed from the Allen County Historical Society. In the reception area, there is an original mural of the 767 Berkshire, the last steam locomotive produced at Lima Locomotive Works. The hallway leading to the patient examination rooms includes a series of framed prints featuring the world's most famous trains.

The decorating was done by Joanne DeHaven, a decorator and patient of Powell's.

"This is really a collection of a lot of Lima history. I just think it's a really nice idea," DeHaven said.

The idea was all Powell's. The board certified oncologist and internist got his first train at 10 and continued to build layouts through his childhood. He gave up the hobby in college, but got started again when a fellow physician gave him a B&O passenger coach as a gag gift. Since moving to Lima, Dr. Powell has joined a group of serious modelers who meet twice monthly to run trains.

But more important than the trains is the comfort and space patients will get at his new facility, Powell said.

"This center has a good deal more room than our old place. It has expanded our ability to make things much more comfortable for our patients," Powell said.