Trustees approve operating plans for new research tower, heart hospital
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University Board of Trustees today (7/12) took the next step in positioning the university and the state at the forefront of biomedical technology and multidisciplinary heart care with its approval of operating plans for two prominent construction projects on the health sciences campus. The university now will proceed with developing construction plans for the Biomedical Research Tower and the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital.
Completing these projects, integral to the university’s Academic Plan for becoming a top public research institution, represents a major university commitment to stimulate and expand Ohio’s position as a leader in biomedical research and world-class cardiovascular care, according to Edward H. Jennings, Ohio State interim president.
“These facilities will greatly advance our academic mission and international reputation while bringing enormous value in health care, advanced technology and economic growth to the state of Ohio and its citizens,” he said.
Dr. Fred Sanfilippo, senior vice president for health sciences and dean of OSU’s College of Medicine and Public Health, agreed.
“We are in an era where the interface of basic biomedical research and patient care is providing the earliest possible diagnosis and most advanced treatment of human diseases and health disorders. The Biomedical Research Tower and Ross Heart Hospital will ensure that people of central Ohio and beyond will have prime and timely access to this research and the cutting-edge care it makes possible.”
Biomedical Research Tower Will Push Hi-Tech Agenda
The Biomedical Research Tower, to be located off West 12th Avenue adjacent to The Ohio State University Medical Center, will be a magnet for scientists involved in groundbreaking research and education. The 10-story tower includes laboratories for researchers in a variety of disciplines as well as core laboratories for central research functions.
Projected to open in 2006, the tower nearly doubles the amount of biomedical research space on campus and provides a centralized facility for educating OSU students, according to Dr. Caroline Whitacre, associate vice president for health sciences research and vice dean for research at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health.
“Scientists working in the Biomedical Research Tower will focus much of their efforts on understanding the cellular and molecular biology of disease, and the development of gene-based therapies, which will ultimately lead to improved medical therapeutics,” Whitacre said.
Core labs will be designated for studies in proteomics, genomics, imaging microbial and cellular interactions, biomedical informatics, cell signalling, microscopy, histology and cytometry. Approximately 1,000 people, including researchers, technologists and clerical support staff, will be working in the tower.
Whitacre said design of the tower will facilitate group interactions between researchers and will allow ready collaboration with clinicians at OSU Medical Center, including those in University Hospitals and the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solve Research Institute.
“We not only hope to spin off successful technology to foster growth of new business ventures within the state, but also to apply what we learn for the benefit of our own patients,” she said. “This transfer of knowledge from the laboratory to the bedside is a very important to our success and vital to our mission as an academic medical center.”
Research conducted in the Biomedical Research Tower also will benefit the university by attracting additional extramural financial support, patents and licensing opportunities.
It’s estimated the Biomedical Research Tower will result in $3.7 billion being spent in Ohio on research-related initiatives in the initial 10-year period after it opens. In addition, it’s expected to lead to the creation of nearly 17,000 new jobs.
Funding of the $151 million tower cost comes largely from private donations, bonds and OSU funds.
Heart Hospital to Join Elite Group
When completed in 2004, The Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital will place OSU Medical Center among a small group of academic medical centers that have melded cardiovascular research with clinical care to form freestanding heart programs. The Ross Heart Hospital will provide inpatient and outpatient care in a four-story, 90-bed facility specifically designed for the care of heart patients with a wide range of conditions and needs, including catheterization, pacemaker implantation, surgical bypass, mechanical heart pumps and transplants.
With research and studies being conducted in the adjacent Dorothy M. Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute, the Heart Hospital will provide a level of expertise not readily available elsewhere in the region by enhancing the transfer of knowledge from researchers to patients.
R. Reed Fraley, vice president for health services at Ohio State, said OSU Medical Center is seeing an increased demand for the services offered by its heart specialists and there is a need to provide the care efficiently and effectively.
“Moving the existing heart program to a dedicated facility enables us to capitalize on our strengths and provide patients and their families with nationally acclaimed heart care that is easily accessed from any point in and around Columbus,” he said.
Several years were spent planning and developing a model for a heart hospital that would advance patient care, medical education and research. The proximity of the proposed heart hospital to the Heart and Lung Research Institute will complement the university’s research initiatives while its location next to University Hospitals will provide it ready access to existing clinical support services.
As the only university medical center in central Ohio, Ohio State University Medical Center cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons have established partnerships with hospitals in several communities around the state. These partnerships allow physicians to share research findings and clinical experience, ultimately increasing access for millions of Ohioans to specialized heart care.
The availability of ultra-modern clinical care training sites, such as a heart hospital, and the unique research opportunities associated with the Heart and Lung Research Institute, are instrumental in training and attracting the nation’s top physicians.
In addition to the 90 beds, the new heart hospital will have six operating rooms, six interventional cardiology suites, an outpatient clinic with 20 exam rooms and 10 consult rooms.
The $82.8 million construction cost will largely be borne by the Hospitals and private fundraising.
