Architecture and construction plans for ProjectONE, an expansion project for The Ohio State University that will significantly advance the Medical Center’s education and research programs and improve patient care, were approved Sept. 18 by The Ohio State University Board of Trustees.
One of the largest job-generating initiatives in Ohio’s history, the project is expected to create as many as 10,000 new full-time jobs and more than 5,000 construction jobs.
The $1 billion investment will transform the Medical Center’s central campus and will include a centralized single tower housing a new Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, along with new critical care units and integrated spaces for research, education and patient care. Ohio State will issue bonds for $925 million and will seek private donations and public partnership investments for the balance.
“This is precisely the right moment to leverage the strength and momentum of Ohio State’s Medical Center for the benefit of Ohio and our patients,” says University President E. Gordon Gee. “The new configuration and technologically advanced facilities will facilitate collaboration among researchers, physicians and patients, reshaping hands-on care and making possible transformational discoveries,therapies and treatments.”
ProjectONE will feature private patient rooms bathed in abundant natural light with visual and physical access to green space, both of which are proven to have a positive effect on healing. Patient rooms in the critical care floors will have an apartment setting built for families who travel to the Medical Center from around the region. A grand concourse and aesthetically pleasing green spaces will link hospitals, clinics, laboratories, classrooms, administrative offices and garages. The tower includes 276 beds in the new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, and 144 new critical care beds.
“We have reached capacity in the James Cancer Hospital and in University Hospital critical care beds, and we must make a significant investment to continue to provide excellent care and create new knowledge through research,” says Steven G. Gabbe, MD, CEO of the Medical Center. ProjectONE will allow the Medical Center to serve 310,000 additional patients annually.
The new facilities also will attract and retain leading doctors and scientists competing for research funding from the National Institutes of Health and other sources. ProjectONE’s state-of-the-art facilities will give scientists, researchers and clinicians the environment they need to collaborate and solve the critical and complex health-related issues impacting our nation.
This story was written by David Crawford.