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Dedication Ceremony, Open Houses Set Stage for the Big Day THE NEW JAMES TO OPEN DEC. 15 AS A MODEL FOR CANCER HOSPITALS TO COME James officials say it will be the third-largest cancer hospital in the nation and one of the most innovative cancer hospitals in the world, serving as a model for all 21st century hospitals devoted to treating cancer. “We thought about this carefully and built a facility that supports the future of cancer care for our patients by integrating diagnosis, treatment, research and education,” says OSUCCC Director and James CEO Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, who notes that the opening will mark the culmination of 10 years of planning, design and construction. Caligiuri says the new James, designed with much input from doctors, nurses, researchers, patients and families, brings researchers and clinicians into closer working proximity than ever before so they can more quickly translate groundbreaking discoveries into cancer care and boost the OSUCCC – James vision of creating a cancer-free world. The Nov. 7 dedication ceremony, a regal event open by invitation only and web-streamed throughout the Ohio State campus, was attended by bipartisan elected officials, university officials and board members, James operating and foundation board members, OSU Wexner Medical Center and OSUCCC – James officials, distinguished community members and many others. Everyone there was able to participate in a mass ribbon-cutting that brought overarching scarlet and gray streamers down upon the audience within a huge tent that had been placed outside the hospital’s main entrance for this occasion. The dedication ceremony was sandwiched among several open-house ceremonies held from Sept. 28- Nov. 9 that offered respective tours of the hospital to: construction workers and their families; Wexner Medical Center and OSUCCC – James faculty, staff and students; community physicians; and the community at large. The community open house on Nov. 9 attracted approximately 9,000 people who came to tour the premises and see what the new hospital entails. Launching the Nov. 7 dedication ceremony, Ohio State University President Michael V. Drake, MD, called the new James a symbol of innovation. “We are standing on a precipice from where we can envision the future of health care – a future that we have helped build,” Drake said. “This hospital is a 21-story declaration of our commitment to health care and a monument of hope to all who will pass through these doors.” Drake said opening the new James is an extraordinary milestone in a continuing quest to cure cancer, a quest that he said “will need the full measure of our faculty, staff and students.” In this facility, he added, “We see a place where miracles and magic will happen, and where prayers will be answered.” OSUCCC – James officials say the building brings clinical care, research and education together in a highly subspecialized care model. Each inpatient unit will have its own cancer focus – gastrointestinal, head and neck, breast, genitourinary, hematologic malignancies, etc. The oncologists, nurses, pharmacists and genomic experts on each unit will treat just that type of cancer, collaborating with researchers to look at the patient’s genes and tumor DNA to determine the best treatment and help speed research discoveries – an approach called precision cancer medicine. “We’ve always done personalized cancer medicine, tailoring the treatment plan based on the patient’s past medical problems, family history and so forth,” says Sameek Roychowdhury, MD, PhD, director of the precision cancer medicine program at the OSUCCC – James. “Precision cancer medicine is about looking at the genetic features and molecular changes acquired by that person’s cancer that have allowed it to grow and invade where it’s not supposed to, and then tailoring the therapy.” The new James also will contain numerous other innovations, including: • one of only a few cancer emergency departments in the country. Scheduled to open in March 2015, the unit will be integrated with Wexner Medical Center’s main emergency department and will include 15 cancer-treatment stations staffed by doctors and nurses specially trained in oncology and emergency medicine; • one of the largest cancer surgical facilities in the United States, with 14 operating rooms, including six interventional operating suites and two suites connected to a 3-Tesla MRI, allowing patients to be imaged during surgery; • an above-ground radiation oncology center with seven treatment vaults located on the hospital’s second floor. Most radiation centers are underground, but the new James will be one of only two facilities in the country to construct its radiation center on the second floor, providing patients and families with sunlight and a view overlooking a park outside the hospital; • natural light as a key design feature throughout the hospital. Patients, visitors and staff will enjoy outdoor cafes and terrace gardens on the 14th floor, where plantings will include vegetables that researchers at the OSUCCC – James have demonstrated to have cancer-preventive properties; • intraoperative radiation therapy and MRI technologies that offer surgeons more precise diagnostics and treatment options for greater patient safety and better outcomes; • translational research labs on each inpatient floor that bring physicians and researchers together to develop and deliver targeted treatments for patients; • a cancer clinical trials unit experienced in conducting safe early-phase trials for qualifying patients; • a 36-bed Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit supported by a state-of-the-art cellular-processing lab; • critical care floors that optimize patient care and incorporate extraordinary patient, family and staff features; • private patient rooms containing identical layouts to enhance safety, sophisticated technology for patient care and entertainment, ample space for families and visitors, personalized nutrition through dining-on-demand services, and large windows that offer expansive views and nearby access to green spaces. Additional features for visitors on every floor include lounges, consultation rooms, Wi-Fi capabilities, TVs, computer terminals and respite areas. “It’s difficult for me to tell you how I’m feeling right now on this sunny day over the enormity of what we have accomplished together,” Caligiuri told the audience at the dedication ceremony. “In 2014, more than two million people in this country will hear the words, ‘You have cancer,’ but more and more often physicians at The James and elsewhere can say, ’But I’ve got some great news for you.’” Caligiuri also expressed gratitude to “all of those pioneers who were instrumental in bringing this new hospital about,” including the James, Wexner, Wolfe and Solove families, and David Schuller, MD, vice president of Wexner Medical Center expansion and outreach, who also serves as director emeritus of both The James and the OSUCCC. Schuller was the first director of The James when it originally opened in July 1990, a position he held until 2008 when he assumed his current posts. “Dr. Schuller has worked tirelessly for several years to oversee this expansion project,” Caligiuri said. Wexner Medical Center CEO Steven G. Gabbe, MD, reported that the $1.1 billion new James project was completed on time, on budget and with an amazing safety record. “But the success of this project is especially attributable to our OSU Board of Trustees, who never wavered in their commitment to this building,” Gabbe said. At a time when many hospitals are cutting back or remaining static, he added, “”Our Board of Trustees never lost sight of what this hospital could and should be. It will allow us to care for more than 300 additional patients each year, and it will stand as a global healthcare innovator with the ability and the will to achieve a cancer-free world.” Also speaking at the dedication were William Farrar, MD, a surgical oncologist who directs the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center and serves as medical director of credentialing at The James; Michael Ostrowski, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry at Ohio State and co-leader of the Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Program at the OSUCCC – James; and James oncology nurse Judy Jefferson-Gordon. Farrar said he first met Arthur G. James, MD, the hospital’s namesake, in 1975, and that James recommended that Farrar complete fellowship training in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and then return to Ohio State to become James’ surgical partner. Farrar said the new hospital marks the furtherance of James’ original dream to establish and maintain a world-class cancer hospital in central Ohio. “This facility is both a new beginning and a continuation of the vision of Dr. James.” Ostrowski described the impending opening of the new James as “an exciting time for the translation of basic cancer research into the clinic, especially for researchers like me,” emphasizing the tremendous promise that the integration of research and treatment holds for the future of cancer care. Jefferson-Gordon said the hospital signifies “a new era for cancer care, one that will better enable us to treat more patients and families as one specialized team.” Among other speakers at the dedication were: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio); Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey; Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman; OSU Board of Trustees Chair Jeffrey Wadsworth; James Operating Board Chair Bob Massie; James Foundation Board Chair Cindy Hilsheimer; Arthur James, grandson of the late Dr. James; Doug Ulman, recently appointed president and CEO of Pelotonia, the annual grassroots bicycle tour that raises millions of dollars for cancer research at the OSUCCC – James; Maddie Spielman, daughter of Chris and the late Stefanie Spielman; and Shannon Peterson, captain of Stefanie’s Team of Hope, which is one of the larger pelotons (riding groups) participating in Pelotonia. “The new James truly is a 21st century cancer hospital, where our more than 300 researchers will work with our more than 170 cancer physician subspecialists to develop solutions leading to more favorable outcomes and a better quality of life for our patients and families,” Caligiuri said. “At The James, we know that there’s no such thing as a routine cancer, and this is no routine cancer hospital,” he continued. “I guarantee, promise and commit to you that we will work tirelessly to make sure that we will one day have a cancer-free world. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the new James. It’s housed here at Ohio State, but in reality it belongs to everyone.”
The sun shines brightly on the new James during the Nov. 9 community open house.
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