Email this pageMajor Facilities Investments
With the recent completion of the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute and with construction of the new Wilmot Cancer Center proceeding on-schedule, URMC leaders used this strategic planning process to develop a long-range facilities plan. Because capital dollars are always limited, careful choices have been made to reflect the full range of needs and the economic imperatives that face the Medical Center.
Pediatric Replacement and Imaging Sciences Modernization (PRISM)
The centerpiece of our clinical strategy and our efforts to boost quality and safety is the Pediatric Replacement and Imaging Sciences Modernization (PRISM) project. URMC has filed an application with the New York State Department of Health seeking approval for a two-phase process that will initially involve construction of a 6-story clinical building to house the expansion of our adult and pediatric inpatient services. The PRISM also includes two floors dedicated to diagnostic and interventional imaging as well as materials management and other support services.
Once this new building is complete, the Medical Center would renovate its existing pediatrics floor, allowing us to open another 67 adult beds. In total, the PRISM project would add another 123 beds to Strong Memorial Hospital, expanding its licensed capacity to 862.
The $259 million PRISM, the most ambitious project undertaken in the Medical Center’s history, will enable URMC to emerge as a leader in translational medicine and provide optimal care for its community and the surrounding region. Without PRISM, patient access, quality, and our long-term financial vitality are threatened.
Given the urgency of our need, planning and design would begin immediately upon receiving State approval. Construction could begin as early as July of 2009. The full project, including the renovation of current pediatrics space, would not be completed until 2013.
Ambulatory Surgery Center
Outpatient surgery is the fastest-growing clinical activity and due to capacity constraints, URMC faculty members now perform more than 5,000 cases off-site at non-URMC facilities. The Medical Center currently has two Operating Room (OR) suites that offer a total of 33 operating rooms, half of which need to be upgraded and expanded. Yet, because of space and staffing limitations, cases are routinely scheduled throughout the day and into the evening, often at times inconvenient for patients, and leaving no opportunity for renovation.
The University of Rochester Medical Center has received State approval to construct an off-site, ambulatory surgery center. The 52,000-square-foot facility will accommodate ten operating rooms, two procedure rooms, pre- and post-operative care space, a materials processing unit to sterilize and prepare surgical instruments, and a family and patient waiting space.
The project will make it possible for future renovations of the Medical Center’s current ORs and pre- and post-anesthesia rooms, while improving all facilities to meet present-day size and technology standards.
URMC could begin construction as early as spring 2008, with completion slated for summer of 2009.
Clinical and Translational Sciences Building
The CTSB will serve as an integrated home for clinical and translational research at the Medical Center. The new 150,000 square-foot facility will enable URMC to consolidate heretofore scattered programs and resources under a single roof including scientific disciplines, education and training programs, critical support operations, and several large clinical research programs.
Specifically, the building will be home to programs and resources that help scientists and clinicians overcome the administrative, technological and regulatory challenges to advancing their research. These include: expanded biostatistics and biomedical informatics departments that will assist researchers in developing advanced systems of data development, storage and analysis; greater access to specialized and expensive research technologies and equipment; and programs that will increase community participation in clinical trials. The building will also house the hub of the Upstate New York Translational Research Network – a research consortium consisting of the region’s 10 major biomedical research institutions.
Coalescing clinical and translational investigators and research infrastructure in one facility will accelerate the process of harnessing scientific breakthroughs to improve health. Collectively, these programs will make the Medical Center a more effective and efficient clinical science enterprise and a stronger competitor for government and private research dollars.
The CTSB will also enable the Medical Center to expand its basic science activity by freeing up 20,000 square feet of space in the MRBX research building that is currently occupied by programs slated to move into the new facility. Once renovated into wet labs, this space will accommodate 12-18 new investigators and their labs.
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