UofL Health Brown Cancer Center breaks ground on new facility in Bullitt County

HILLVIEW, Ky. — A new cancer center in Bullitt County aims to bring faster, more specialized care to thousands of Kentuckians living in rural areas.

Officials with the UofL Health broke ground Monday on a $25 million regional cancer center that will serve an estimated 15,000 patients across the region. The UofL Brown Cancer Center facility is being built on the border of Hillview and Shepherdsville, next to the recently opened UofL South Hospital.

“With Kentucky being one of the number one places to have cancer, it is definitely most needed — very badly,” said Hillview Mayor Jim Eadens, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony alongside other local leaders.

Eadens, a melanoma survivor, knows the value of accessible care. Diagnosed in 2010, he said he went through 26 rounds of chemotherapy and has been cancer-free since.

The new center will offer infusion services, onsite labs, and cancer research and education — features that are expected to significantly cut down travel time for rural patients.

“I can get the sub-specialists who focus on certain types of cancer into Bullitt County,” said Jason Chesney, director of the UofL Brown Cancer Center. “And it translates into a round trip savings of about an hour for our patients.”

Chesney said the center will include 25 staff members, exam rooms, video conferencing capabilities, and an oncology pharmacy. Importantly, it will provide 24/7 care with access to cancer specialists.

“If you have cancer, you do not want to see somebody who is a jack of all trades,” he said. “You want to see somebody who specializes in breast cancer, or lung cancer, or prostate cancer.”

The project is being funded by the Kentucky General Assembly. Eadens said the center will be a “game changer” for more than 10,000 cancer patients — and could have a reach well beyond state lines.

“There are going to be things that will help people all over the world,” he said. “It’s absolutely going to bring people hope.”

The UofL Brown Cancer Center in Bullitt County is expected to open in the second half of 2026.

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