In a unified effort to combat the nation's and Michigan's leading killer, cardiovascular disease, the University of Michigan Health System is building a unique clinical heart and vascular care facility that will bring together operating rooms, patients rooms, clinics, classrooms and laboratories.
Following today's approval by the University of Michigan Regents of the schematic design for the $199 million building project, the U-M Health System plans to break ground for its new Cardiovascular Center in fall 2003. The 350,000 square foot clinical facility, with an adjoining 465-space parking deck and connectors to existing UMHS buildings, is scheduled to be open for patient use in early 2007.
This state-of-the-art facility, set to rise from the "heart" of the U-M medical campus, will help meet the surging demand for U-M cardiovascular services. In the past five years alone, outpatient visits and inpatient cases at U-M have risen by about 30 percent.
The U-M Cardiovascular Center concept received its initial approval in the fall of 2000, giving UMHS the go-ahead to coordinate services, raise funds and plan the space for the proposed building. Today's Regents approval is for the schematic design and renderings created by architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, which will allow the Cardiovascular Center to break ground in the fall.
Through the all-in-one design of the new Cardiovascular Center, more patients will be able to receive coordinated care from multidisciplinary U-M clinical teams. By bringing together specialized services and facilities that are now located throughout the medical center, the new center will be a one-stop location for testing, imaging, invasive procedures, major surgery and intensive inpatient care.
Unlike other centers of its kind, the new U-M Cardiovascular Center will include eight operating rooms dedicated to cardiac and vascular surgery, 24 intensive-care patient beds, 36 outpatient exam rooms and 14 procedure labs for heart and blood vessel procedures, and a state-of-the-art noninvasive diagnostic facility. Nearby teaching space will help UMHS train future cardiovascular specialists.
Additionally, through the use of natural light and an interior healing garden, the facility is expected to have a relaxed atmosphere for patients, families and visitors.
The garden atrium is a unique feature that extends through the levels of the building to create a place of tranquility for all visitors.
The Center's team includes cardiologists; hypertension specialists; neurologists; cardiac and vascular surgeons; anesthesiologists; radiologists and nuclear medicine specialists; pharmacologists; geneticists; pathologists; physiologists; and cell and molecular biologists. Specialized nurses, technicians, social workers, transplant teams, clinical research coordinators and laboratory staff round out the team.
That team will be led by the new Center's senior leadership: Kim A. Eagle, M.D., clinical director; David J. Pinsky, M.D., scientific director; Richard L. Prager, M.D., cardiac surgery director; James C. Stanley, M.D., vascular surgery director; and Linda Larin, MBA, Administrative Director.
The Center's clinical care, research and teaching activities will focus on the entire spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, from high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks, heart failure and stroke to aneurysms, heart valve disease, vascular disease, and heart-related birth defects.
With many strong programs currently in place to prevent, diagnose and treat these conditions and advanced clinical research programs, the Center concept fosters an environment where U-M patients are able to receive new techniques and treatments before they're available anywhere else in Michigan or the Midwest.
"The final approval of construction plans for the CVC by the Board of Regents launches the UMHS into a new era for cardiovascular care. It is remarkable, even visionary, to focus our efforts on the development of an integrated care facility at a time in which the U.S. population is aging and the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is increasing," says David J. Pinsky, M.D., the scientific director of the Cardiovascular Center. "As a hub for the provision of state-of-the-art cardiovascular care and as a center of research and teaching excellence, the CVC will enable UMHS physicians to use the great discoveries of modern medicine to advance the health of patients at risk for or suffering from cardiovascular disease."
The center and its parking garage are to be built on the former site of the "Old Main" hospital that served U-M patients until the mid-1980s, along and behind a steep rise fittingly known as "Cardiac Hill".
Clinical services for infants, children and teens provided by the world-renowned U-M Congenital Heart Center, part of the Cardiovascular Center umbrella, will remain in children's hospital and pediatric outpatient facilities.
For more information on the U-M Cardiovascular Center, visit http://www.med.umich.edu/cvc.
Note: A high resolution image of the new Cardiovascular Center is available upon request (734-764-2220)
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