February 2006: UK Announces Design for New Hospital, Medical Campus of Future
The design of the new $450 million University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, scheduled to be complete in 2010, was publicly unveiled June 12, 2006, along with plans for a new academic medical campus that will help fuel UK's plans to become a Top 20 public research institution by 2020.
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 The expansion project - a new 1 million square foot UK Chandler Hospital finished in two phases -- will allow for the step-by-step replacement of the existing hospital. Moreover, the hospital project will be the cornerstone for a new 20-year, $2.5 billion plan on the south side of campus to construct an academic medical campus of the future that will further accelerate growth in research and health education, UK officials said.
The new academic medical campus of the future will include:
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Increase in pharmacy students in the Top 10 ranked program while also creating additional research space
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Additional research buildings, like the recently constructed Biomedical Biological Science Research Building
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A new shared Health Sciences Learning Center, where students from different health disciplines would interact and learn together
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Additional buildings to house the programs of the colleges of medicine, dentistry, nursing, health sciences and public health
"This is really the beginning of dramatic, substantive and long-term change for the academic medical center and the UK Chandler Hospital," said Dr. Michael Karpf, UK Executive Vice President for Health Affairs. "This project will improve health care for the people of Kentucky, while also expanding the research and education agenda of the University of Kentucky and the economy of the region and state."
The need for a new hospital facility is well-documented with the changing nature of health care delivery and advances in health care technology, Karpf said. UK HealthCare officials expect to see 24,700 patients treated this year at UK Chandler Hospital - a 29 percent increase over the 19,098 of fiscal year 2003. From a low period in 2003, the hospital has seen a dramatic increase in patients, with the number growing more each quarter than the prior year for 10 consecutive quarters.
The increasing demand for the services provided by UK HealthCare over the past several years has spurred the need for additional staff - nurses, physicians and other medical providers. UK HealthCare has created nearly 1,300 new jobs since 2003 - an increase in the workforce of more than 26 percent.
The first phase of construction for the new hospital has begun, as crews have broken ground on a parking garage for patients and their families that will be completed in 2007.
"Many people thought it would take many, many years to get here," Karpf said about the construction project. "The ultimate goal is to afford Kentuckians the peace of mind that no matter how sick they get, no matter how complex or unusual their illness is, they don't have to go to a Cleveland Clinic or Mayo for the best possible treatment. They can be taken care of in Kentucky at UK Chandler Hospital."
Along with the expansion in health care services has come a dramatic increase in health research at UK's six academic medical colleges. UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. said that for UK to reach its goal of becoming a Top 20 public research institution by 2020, the growth of the medical research enterprise will have to accelerate, prompting UK officials to begin long-range planning for a medical campus of the future.
In the last few years alone, health research in the UK College of Medicine has nearly doubled-expected to reach $131 million in grants and contracts this year. The university's quest for Top 20 status among the nation's public institutions will require a significant research commitment from the academic colleges at the medical center, which account for more than 55 percent of UK's total research dollars.
"As we begin to take this slogan of being a Top 20 institution and bring it toward a reality, the medical center figures as a key component of our drive," Todd said. "The new hospital and academic medical campus of the future are going to be extremely important in helping us meet our mission, not only to meet the Top 20 challenge, but to achieve our mission for improving the lives of Kentuckians."
"One of the things that we take very seriously is our responsibility to create new knowledge, to develop the kinds of new treatments and understandings of disease, that make a difference to the people of Kentucky, and indeed the nation," said Dr. Jay A. Perman, UK College of Medicine Dean. "To do that, we need to constantly attract the best medical scientists available, who are often highly sought after. They are going to spend a good deal of their time doing research in order to create new knowledge. But, they also need to work in state-of-the-art facilities. So an outstanding new hospital, plus academic and research space, gives us a leg up in attracting to Kentucky the very best professionals possible."
The first phase of the academic medical campus of the future will be the upcoming construction of a new UK College of Pharmacy building, scheduled to begin in 2007 with completion late in 2009.
"The new College of Pharmacy building will double the amount of our current classroom space and increase research space by about 40 percent," said Kenneth B. Roberts, UK College of Pharmacy Dean. "Kentucky currently has a shortage of some 400 pharmacists in all regions of the state. Our Top 10 ranked program must grow to meet the state's needs. The UK College of Pharmacy has increased its enrollment by 50 percent since 2000, from 88 students to 132 admitted for the class entering in 2006. The new facility will enable us to continue our growth and allow us to offer these high-quality health care job opportunities to Kentuckians."
UK officials said it was important to begin planning for additional construction to accommodate the need and growth for more research and educational space.
"Collaboration is a key factor in educating Kentucky's future health care providers," said UK Provost Kumble R. Subbaswamy. "As one of only a few universities in the nation to have all six medical colleges on one campus, UK is well-positioned to pursue inter-professional health care education and collaborative research. The entire Health Sciences Learning Center and Research Complex will offer unprecedented opportunities for the learning and research experience, in addition to the learning opportunities the new UK Chandler Hospital will provide for Kentucky's future doctors, nurses and allied health professionals."
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