New Hospital Pavilion Is Named Center for Care and Discovery

October 2, 2012

The University of Chicago Medicine's new 1.2 million-square-foot hospital is getting a name that will underscore its commitment to innovative medical research and patient-centered care: the Center for Care and Discovery.

The unveiling of the new hospital's name is a major step on the road to its grand opening early next year and follows months of consumer research and thoughtful discussion by University of Chicago Medicine leaders.

"Since ground was broken in 2009, we've called our building the New Hospital Pavilion," said Sharon O'Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center. "But it's not just a new hospital. We chose 'Center for Care and Discovery' because it will transform how we care for all patients, using leading-edge technology and innovative research to deliver advanced clinical treatments in a setting that offers a superior healing environment."

The Center for Care and Discovery is strategically located near the Gordon Center for Integrative Science and the Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery, two world-class research facilities that unite scientists from the biological and physical sciences who continually strive to translate fundamental scientific discoveries into better care for patients.

"Our researchers believe that major medical advances will be driven by discoveries in genomics, computation and other areas," said Kenneth S. Polonsky, executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Chicago. "The Center for Care and Discovery will help us advance research and education, thereby having a fundamental impact on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease."

The $700 million, 10-story facility will serve as the new core of the University of Chicago Medicine campus when it welcomes its first patients in early February 2013. The Center for Care and Discovery will be one of the most advanced clinical and surgical centers in the country, providing a home for patients with complex medical and surgical needs.

The new hospital was designed for two key groups:

• Patients and their families
• The nurses and physicians who deliver care and the physician-scientists who discover new treatments for complex medical conditions

For the patient, the Center for Care and Discovery will contain 240 single-occupancy inpatient rooms that are spacious enough to accommodate families for overnight stays. The rooms, located on the perimeter of the building for greater privacy, have large windows that provide stunning views of the University of Chicago campus, Lake Michigan, Washington Park and the Chicago skyline.

Flat-screen TVs, reading lights, dual-layer window treatments and a state-of-the-art paging system that eliminates the need for overhead announcements underscore the University of Chicago Medicine's commitment to patient-centric care.

For physicians, nurses and researchers, the Center for Care and Discovery is a technological tour de force with the space that will encourage true multidisciplinary treatment. It boasts 28 operating rooms with integrated diagnostic and interventional platforms for specialty care. It was designed by the award-winning architect Rafael Viñoly, who also is responsible for the acclaimed Charles M. Harper Center at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. The new hospital is largely made up of repeating modular cubes that can be repurposed over time to accommodate innovations and changing medical needs.

"It is a design for the future that allows rapid integration of new technologies for advanced care in a way that maintains the patient and family at the center," said Jeffrey B. Matthews, MD, surgeon-in-chief and chairman of the Department of Surgery. "Patients from near and far will come to the University of Chicago Medicine for new treatments not found in most hospitals, including cancer treatment targeted to the specific genetic mutations driving their disease, for care by the world's most experienced surgeons using robotic precision to treat prostate cancer and perform minimally invasive heart surgeries, and for other treatments that are developed by experts with access to emerging technology."

The Center for Care and Discovery will allow clinician-scientists like Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, to walk from his laboratory at the Knapp Center, where he works with various models of lung cancer, across the street to the ideal setting for clinical testing of promising therapies.

"Such a close bond between a university and an academic medical center is rare," said Salgia, director of the Thoracic Oncology Program and vice chair for translational research. "The new hospital will speed the translation from laboratory to treatment to enhance the quality of life and survival for patients with cancer."