The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved construction, and the remainder of funding for professional services, for its Wexner Medical Center Outpatient Care Dublin and added partial approval for the Wexner Medical Center Outpatient Care West Campus.
“Our patients want the best and most convenient care,” said Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for Health Affairs at Ohio State and CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “These outpatient care locations, with state-of-the-art health services, fulfill that need in our communities.”
The $161.2 million Wexner Medical Center Outpatient Care Dublin project will construct a new 272,000 square foot building. Program offerings will include ambulatory surgery, endoscopy, primary care, specialty medical and surgical clinics and related support spaces.
The Dublin location will join New Albany as the second suburban facility to receive full approval and expand the reach of the Wexner Medical Center. The new facility will be built on 34 acres of land just south of, and visible from, State Route 33. A new University Boulevard will be constructed to provide access from Shier Rings Road.
Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2020 with and run through summer 2022.
“Our investment in suburban outpatient care supports the growth in the region and improves access to high quality academic health care,” said Dan Like, Ohio State Wexner Medical Center executive director of Ambulatory Services.
The university also received $132.3 million toward construction of its planned Wexner Medical Center Outpatient Care West Campus. The approximately 385,000 square foot cancer-focused facility will include a surgical center and proton therapy treatment facility.
“Advances in clinical care and translational research allow us to safely deliver many exceptional oncology therapies to our patients in an outpatient setting,” said Dr. William Farrar, surgical oncologist and CEO at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. “As our population of patients and cancer survivors continues to grow, so must the spaces where we provide care. It’s our goal to ensure access that’s efficient and timely to best meet the needs of patients in the central Ohio community and beyond.”
Design continues on the facility, which is currently estimated to cost a total of $343.7 million and will require additional board action for full approval. Overall plans include outpatient operating rooms, interventional radiology rooms, extended recovery unit, pre-anesthesia center, a diagnostic imaging center, retail pharmacy, hematology clinic, genitourinary (GU) clinic, infusion and medical office and support spaces. The project will also add a 640-space parking garage.
The proton therapy facility, in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, will be the first of its kind in central Ohio. Proton therapy is an advanced type of radiation treatment that uses protons (positively charged particles) instead of x-rays to kill cancer cells. A machine delivers a high-energy proton beam painlessly through the skin from outside the body.
Proton therapy is expected to utilize 60,000 square feet and account for approximately $105 million of the overall project budget. Nationwide Children’s has committed up to 50% of the expected proton center project cost.
The Wexner Medical Center Outpatient Care West Campus joins the Interdisciplinary Research Facility and an Energy Advancement and Innovation Center as the first three major projects envisioned for Ohio State’s new West Campus Innovation District.
All three projects advance the university’s strategic plan and align with its long-term planning vision called Framework 2.0.
Visit Ohio State Environments to see how development advances the university’s overall mission and Time and Change: Building the Future for major construction updates that support Framework 2.0.
This story was updated on February 28, 2020 to reflect Board of Trustees approval.