Healthcare

Institutions that allow research strategy to drive their infrastructure will forge productive relationships with their primary investigators (PIs) from the start and yield better research results. The University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Canada, has successfully instituted procedures to take into account the financial and facility impact of potential research hires, which has positively impacted recruitment efforts and strengthened its research program.

The University of Florida celebrated the opening of the $45 million Clinical and Translational Science Building in Gainesville in August of 2013. The collaborative 120,000-sf project houses the 40,000-sf UF Institute on Aging, the Clinical and Translational Research Institute, conference rooms, training facilities, research laboratories, and clinical space. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Queensland Children's Hospital is building the $125 million Academic and Research Facility (A&RF) in Brisbane. Created in partnership with the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and the Translational Research Institute, the ten-story project will provide five floors of wet and dry labs for advanced biomedical research. The remaining levels will house pathology services, retail, and parking. While the facility will house more than 450 researchers, the design allows for expansion.

Loyola University Chicago will break ground in August of 2013 on the $137 million Center for Translational Research and Education. Created in partnership with CHE-Trinity, the five-story, 227,000-sf facility will provide open labs and support space for research in epidemiology, public health, bioinformatics, nursing, and health sciences. The center will accommodate 72 principal investigators and will include a 250-seat auditorium. Occupancy is expected in August of 2016.

The Mayo Clinic is expanding in Phoenix with the construction of a 380,000-sf, six-story cancer treatment center. The project includes a $181.5 million proton therapy facility located on the 100,000-sf concourse level of the building with two stories underground. Walls of high density concrete will provide radiation containment for the center, which will include four treatment rooms and its own central plant. Ground was broken on the facility in late 2011 and occupancy is expected in 2016.

The recently opened Translational Research Institute (TRI) in Brisbane, Australia, combines four major research institutes into a single medical and biopharmaceutical research facility where new treatments can be developed, manufactured, and clinically tested in one location, greatly shortening the time between discovery and application.

Georgia Regents Health System (GRHS) has awarded Royal Philips a 15-year, $300 million contract to provide consulting, medical technologies, and operational oversight for facilities at Georgia Regents Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Georgia, Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, and multiple outpatient clinics. The alliance will leverage an innovative business model that includes the implementation of Philips imaging, clinical informatics, and patient monitoring systems.

Brigham and Women's Hospital broke ground in June of 2013 on the $450 million Brigham Building for the Future in Boston. The 620,000-sf, 11-story translational facility will provide advanced laboratories, clinical space, and a subterranean imaging center to support the integration of research with patient care. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will feature a cogeneration plant and a storm water recycling system. Completion is expected in fall of 2016.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is building the $425 million Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care in Philadelphia. The 12-story, 700,000-sf project will provide advanced outpatient clinical care facilities and will include a 14,000-sf rooftop garden, a 2.6-acre landscaped outdoor plaza, and five levels of underground parking for 1,500 vehicles. Occupancy is expected in 2015.

The project team includes:

The 5,700-sf Advanced Multimodality Image Guided Operating Suite (AMIGO) represents a significant development in integrating imaging and surgery into one space. The Suite is located in a basement of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Three diagnostic and procedure rooms allow imaging before, during, and after surgery with minimal disruption to the patient and the surgical procedure. This suite provides clinicians and researchers with new opportunities to improve surgical techniques and develop new clinical methodologies.

The Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center of Excellence consolidates the neuroscience resources of longtime partners Indiana University Health and Indiana University School of Medicine in a single facility, resulting in an integrated approach for a comprehensive and well-coordinated delivery of patient care.  The six-floor, 270,000-sf Center provides easier, faster access to neuroscience experts, the latest in clinical breakthroughs, and the most advanced treatment options for neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, brain tumors, spine problems, seizures, and stroke.<

Royal Adelaide Hospital is planning a two-building expansion of its South Australia campus. The first facility will be a seven-story medical school for the University of Adelaide providing advanced instructional space for nursing, health sciences, and possibly dentistry. Construction will begin in 2014 with completion expected in 2016. The second building is a cancer research center housing biomedical laboratories for the University of South Australia and SA Pathology; completion is expected in 2017.

Southern Illinois University is building the $9.5 million Multidisciplinary Dental Simulation Laboratory in Alton. The 18,000-sf addition will provide 60 simulation units as well as an imaging suite, casting and dispensing areas, and a ceramic reconstruction room for the School of Dental Medicine. Construction began on the project in October of 2012 and occupancy is expected in spring of 2014.

The United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) has created 15 Academic Health Science Networks to promote translational research and the application of best practices in healthcare. The 15 AHSNs are: East Midlands; Eastern; Greater Manchester; North East and North Cumbria; North West Coast; Imperial College Health Partners; Oxford; South London; South West Peninsula; Kent, Surrey and Sussex; UCL Partners; Wessex; West Midlands; West of England; and Yorkshire and Humber.

The six-story, 578,000-sf Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA) at the University of Alberta, Canada, brings together 800 faculty and staff from 12 departments, and 6,000 students from the Health Sciences Department, who focus on population health, computational research, and translational research.