Courtesy of KMD Architects An architect's rendering of what the new heart hospital could look like.

New hospital will round out comprehensive heart center

Facility will offer numerous advantages in cardiac care

A site on the campus of Ohio State's Medical Center has been selected for construction of one of the first hospitals in the region specializing in heart care.

The heart hospital will be located on West 10th Avenue adjoining Rhodes Hall, the main hospital building, according to Fred Sanfilippo, senior vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health. The new four-story hospital also will be connected to the recently opened Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute.

When completed, the heart hospital will enable Ohio State to achieve its longstanding goal to create a comprehensive heart center, a concept unique to many academic medical centers and unmatched in the Midwest, according to Robert Michler, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at OSU.

"The OSU Heart Center will harness the tremendous strengths of our research, clinical care and teaching programs,"Michler said. "Physicians and scientists working in collaboration will accelerate knowledge of heart disease and hasten our ability to prevent and cure some of the most perplexing cardiac disorders we face today. The heart hospital will be a state-of-the-art complex where patients will have access to promising new research findings and treatments."

The heart hospital's proposed location facilitates access to University Hospitals with at least two floors connecting the buildings. Also, with University Hospitals' emergency department adjoining the heart hospital, and plans to relocate the helipad to be closer to the complex, critically ill patients will be only seconds from vital cardiac services.

Gregory Eaton, acting chief of cardiology, says the centralized site on the medical campus offers many other advantages.

"In addition to being connected with the main hospital, the heart hospital also will be linked with the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute,"Eaton said. "This lends practicality and function to our objectives of providing the highest level of patient care, research and teaching opportunities to future cardiologists and heart surgeons. The location also will be convenient for patients, many of whom drive long distances to receive treatment at Ohio State."

With the building entrance facing University Hospitals' main driveway, the heart hospital will adjoin a proposed parking garage and feature quick access to Route 315 once entrance ramps are completed.

Catheterization laboratories, operating rooms, diagnostic suites and nearly 100 patient beds will be housed in the facility, which has been in the planning stages for nearly three years.

Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz of San Francisco is the architectural firm in charge of the building's design. Also working on the project is Design Group Inc. of Columbus.

The Ohio State University Medical Center has consistently been named one of America's best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report magazine. The Medical Center is widely recognized for programs in heart care, cancer, orthopedics, organ transplantation, rehabilitation, women's services and neuroscience. University Medical Center is the only academic medical center serving central and southern Ohio, and provides care to more than 3,000 patients daily.

The recently opened Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute occupies a seven-story building in the medical complex, and is one of the nation's only free-standing facilities devoted entirely to studying diseases affecting the heart, lungs and blood vessels.

David Crawford writes for OSU Medical Center Communications.

This drawing shows the location of the heart hospital in relation to existing facilities on West 10th Avenue.

Heart Hospital facts

STRUCTURE

• Approximately 212,300 sq. ft. four-story building

• Adjacent to emergency dept., helipad

• Connected to parking garage

• Approaching streets realigned for State Route 315 access

INPATIENT SERVICES

• 32 beds -- Interventional/Short Stay Unit

• 64 beds -- Medical/Surgical Nursing

DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT SERVICES

• Six operating rooms

• Six catheterization/intervention/imaging suites

• One magnetic resonance imager

• One C-scan

• 20 exam rooms

• Two echo stress test suites

• Three vascular labs

• One transesophogeal echo

• Three nuclear cameras

• 10 physician consultation rooms

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

• Physician offices

• Meeting/boardroom

• Auditorium

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