West Georgia Health System in LaGrange broke ground on the 130,000-sf South Tower expansion in October of 2007. The $65 million, four-story project is slated for completion in 2009. Designed to accommodate vertical expansion, the facility could provide up to 192 beds in the future. The tower will house private patient rooms, a 24-bed intensive care unit, emergency department, labor and delivery center, and cardiovascular center.
Peking University Health Science Center, located in Beijing, China, entered into a strategic partnership with Duke Medicine in September of 2007. Enabling the integration of healthcare delivery, the seven-year agreement will bring Duke University administrators, faculty, and researchers to Beijing to develop concepts for systems and services integration to enhance operational efficiency.
Henry Ford Hospital opened the $5 million Center for Simulation, Education and Research in Detroit in early fall of 2007. The 12,000-sf facility houses two simulation operating theaters (including a $1.6 million robot system), six clinical rooms, a 30-station minimally invasive procedure lab, and two classrooms. The mannequin and computer-rich spaces are reconfigurable for training in surgery, labor and delivery, intensive care, and emergency procedures.
Skanska USA Building Inc. has formed a partnership with U.S. HealthRealty LLC to develop healthcare real estate in the United States. The new entity will be called Skanska HealthRealty and will offer pre-development and development services, capital financing, and owner and asset management. Skanska HealthRealty will be based out of Skanska’s Nashville, Tennessee, office.
The Johns Hopkins University has received a $100-million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Center for Research Resources to establish The Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR). The five-year award will support patient-centered biomedical research throughout The Johns Hopkins University, including the schools of Medicine, Engineering, Nursing and Public Health.
Florida Children’s Hospital began construction in September of 2007 on the first Disney-themed and branded pediatric hospital in Orlando. Funded in part by a $10-million donation from The Walt Disney Co., the $35-million, 200-bed facility is slated for completion in 2010. The seven-story building will replace the existing Florida Children's Hospital on the site.
The NIH’s National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) has selected Weill Cornell Medical College to establish the Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) in New York. The CTSC, a biomedical research collaboration between partnering institutions, will foster translational research on patient treatment and preventive interventions.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded the University of Wisconsin-Madison $41 million over five years to support research at UW's Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. The funding, a Clinical and Translational Science Award, is one of the largest ever received by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. The award will support the application of biomedical research to clinical treatment.
The University of South Florida opened the $25-million Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr., Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute in Tampa on Sept. 15, 2007. Designed by HDR Architecture, the 108,000-sf, seven-story building is the only free-standing Alzheimer’s research facility in the world. The center is sited on 2.6 acres and houses flexible research laboratories for 8 scientific teams, a clinic, an imaging center, offices, and a vivarium. The design of the tower includes future construction of a wing extending east and north.
The University of Oklahoma broke ground in September of 2007 on the $7.5 million Cancer Institute and Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center in Tulsa. Housing research, diagnosis, treatment, and education, the 23,000-sf facility is slated for completion in January of 2009.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center opened the Military Advanced Training Center (MATC) in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 13, 2007. The 31,000-sf facility offers unprecedented medical care and services for amputees and limb-loss patients. The facility provides “one stop shopping” for Warrior Care, offering therapy and exercise areas, computer simulation training for military specific tasks; and offices for psychologists, Veterans Affairs representatives, social workers, benefits counselors, researchers, physicians, and nurse case managers.
Fort Wayne Medical Oncology & Hematology dedicated its $7 million physician-owned Comprehensive Cancer Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. on September 14, 2007. Housing facilities for research, treatment, and support, the 48,000-sf project was built in cooperation with Lutheran Hospital. The two-story facility is attached to the existing Medical Office Building Two which houses physicians from Radiation Oncology Associates.
The University of Kentucky began construction in fall of 2007 on the 286,200-sf College of Pharmacy facility in Lexington. The largest college of pharmacy yet constructed, the building will accommodate 47,700-sf on each of its six floors when it opens in 2010. The project is part of the University of Kentucky’s $2.5 billion plan to replace its existing hospital with a new medical campus for education and research.
AstraZeneca has partnered with Peking University to open the Clinical Pharmacology Unit (CPU) on Sept. 4, 2007 in Beijing, China. Accommodating research on therapies for infections, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, the facility will accelerate progress from phase one drug development to the subsequent phases of clinical research. AstraZeneca is investing funds for facility upgrades to support clinical research and will provide personnel training, consulting, and system audits to Peking University Third Hospital.
University College Dublin’s School of Medicine has partnered with The Mater and St. Vincent's Healthcare Group to create Ireland’s first academic medical center. Dublin Academic Health Care opens in September 2007 and will contain over 1,400 beds. Accommodating approximately 100,000 patient visits annually, the partnership will increase access to specialists, improve patient care, and foster translational research.
