Cancer Institute 99% Complete, November Opening Targeted as Equipment Delays and HUD Match Uncertainty Remain

ST. THOMAS — Construction of the Charlotte Kimmelman Cancer Institute is 99 percent complete, with officials targeting November 2026 for the return of cancer-care services closer to home as they work through equipment procurement, staffing, regulatory and operational-readiness requirements. The facility has reached “substantial completion with all major systems…installed and fully operational,” Darlene Baptiste, chief executive officer of the territory’s hospitals, told the Senate Committee on Health, Hospitals and Human Services on Wednesday. Darryl Smalls, executive director of the Territorial Hospitals Reconstruction Team, and Ms. Baptiste said the remaining work is focused largely on preparing the institute to receive patients rather than completing major construction. However, officials are still confronting challenges involving minor medical and information-technology equipment. The project also carries uncertainty over a 2 percent local match that reconstruction officials had...