Like a lot of southern Illinoisans, Jim Batts of Benton has worked more than one job during his adulthood and says that he has enjoyed nearly all of them. But the job he has now as he grows nearer to retirement age may be his best yet, according to him.
"Oh, without a doubt! I love working here," he said.
Batts works maintenance at the SIH Cancer Institute in Carterville, where he and the rest of the staff there do their best to help area cancer patients and their caregivers deal with the often arduous effort involved in overcoming the many variations of this horrid disease.
The public's response to their services has been nothing short of amazing since the day they cut the ribbon officially opening the center two and a half years ago.
A Southern Illinois Healthcare spokesman said, "Our goal is to offer you the expertise of specially trained physicians and cutting-edge technology while helping ease the burden of a cancer journey."
They work to reduce the stress of logistics, thus allowing the patient to pour that their energy into healing.
Batts says that working there, he sees people from all over southern Illinois, including many from his hometown, "Oh, I see a lot of people from Benton getting treated here. They seem to enjoy running into me -- a familiar face," he said.
"I'm a people person and I try to be positive and encouraging to all the cancer patients who walk through our doors,' he added.
Ruthie McCollum is among them. The Benton woman said, "I've been getting my treatments here and I'm so happy I don't have to travel a long way to receive them. And, I just love my doctor."
Thanks to the public's response to having a cancer treatment center so close, plans are already underway to build on to the facility to better accommodate the growing number of patients seeking treatment there.
