Hi! I like to share good news whenever I can and today is certainly one of those days.
Last Friday marked an important day for the Medical Center and the University when the University Board of Trustees affirmed the architecture and construction plans for ProjectONE.
The $1 billion investment will transform the Medical Center and University campus and will include a centralized single tower design that will house a new James Cancer Hospital along with a new critical care building and integrated spaces for research, education and patient care. This expansion sets us apart as a national leader in innovative health care, by supporting high-quality, patient-centric, personalized medicine, which has the potential to make health care more affordable and accessible for everyone.
I’m excited and you should be too. I’d like to thank all of you who attended our ProjectONE Feedback Forums over the last few weeks. Your input and ideas as well as those from patients, families and industry leaders helped us develop the final recommendation that went to the Board. We’ll continue to look to you for feedback as we move forward.
And, as we move forward, this project will touch all of us. ProjectONE is not only an investment in the Medical Center, but also an investment in our future – improving health and prosperity for our families and their children, our state, our nation and the global community.
And the investment isn’t only an investment in the physical health of our community; it’s an investment in our economic health as well. This investment will begin paying dividends almost immediately by creating the jobs we need to jump-start Ohio’s economic recovery and continue long into the future.
This is one of the largest job-generating initiatives in Ohio’s history. Over the course of the project, 10,000 full-time jobs will be created including 6,000 full-time jobs at the Medical Center and there will be more than 5,000 additional construction jobs. It is projected that ProjectONE will provide the community with $1.7 billion in annual economic impact by 2015.
The new facilities will create a unique, calming setting for compassionate care focused on our patients’ recovery and wellness. All the rooms will be private rooms with natural light and visual and physical access to green space. Patient rooms in the critical care floors will have an apartment setting built for families that travel to the Medical Center from around the region for Level 1 trauma care and require an extended stay. A grand concourse will link hospitals, clinics, laboratories, classrooms, administrative offices and garages. The new tower standing 17 floors high will include 276 new cancer beds and 144 new critical care beds.
It’s a big project with a big impact. ProjectONE will allow the Medical Center to serve 310,000 additional patients annually through the expansion. In addition, these new facilities are a must if we are going to continue to attract and retain leading physicians, researchers and nurses as well as to compete for research funding from the National Institutes of Health and other sources.
As you can guess, no project this big can take place without some disruption. You’ve seen the beginnings of that with the closing of Means Hall and the fencing around the Spirit of Women’s Park as we prepare to re-locate that park to a green space in front of Rhodes Hall. I’m asking you today and I’ll continue to ask you to remain flexible, positive and focused on the benefits that we will all see at the end of this project. Stay informed on ProjectONE construction by using the special ProjectONE site on OneSource. You can find the link on the homepage. Thank you in advance for the support, understanding and patience that I know you’ll show one another and our patients and visitors throughout this project. Together, we are truly improving people’s lives and we should all be proud of where we are heading.
Finally, one more bit of good news I must share with you. At the close of the Board of Trustees meeting, the Board unanimously approved the following motion. I want to read it to you:
The Ohio State University Board of Trustees extends its most sincere appreciation to the faculty, staff, and leadership of The Ohio State University Medical Center for the hard work, cooperation and assistance they provided over the 90-day period of intense review of ProjectONE. And the exceptional work they have done to position OSUMC for the significant step forward.
Well, have a great week!