OSU Medical Center Pilot Project Receives $100 Million

OSU Medical Center Pilot Project Receives $100 Million 

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Wednesday announced that Ohio State University (OSU) received $100 million for a construction project at OSU MedicalCenter. The funding, distributed by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), was awarded through a competitive grant program created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Nationwide, OSU is the only recipient of this grant and Brown wrote a letter of support on behalf of the school’s application. 

“This unprecedented project will bring thousands of new jobs to Central Ohio and further cement our state’s leadership in providing the highest quality of medical care,” Brown said. “OSU Medical Center serves Ohioans from each of our state’s 88 counties. This expansion will broaden the university’s reach by unifying cutting-edge education and research to ensure access to top-notch care for all Ohioans.”

Gov. Ted Strickland also issued a statement praising the funding, saying, “Today’s announcement is testament to the national importance of this project and the opportunity it brings to benefit patients from Ohio and across the country and globe. ProjectONE will strengthen the university and the central Ohioeconomy by creating 10,000 jobs and attracting the best and brightest students, doctors and scientists to Ohio. I congratulate President Gee and the university leadership for their forward-looking vision and their strong partnerships with the central Ohio community and the state on this monumental project.”

He also noted that ProjectONE is one of three Construction Reform Demonstration Projects provided for in HB318 to test alternative methods of public construction management in Ohio.

ProjectONE, the largest construction project in university history, will expand the OSU Medical Center, including the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. ProjectONE received funding through the competitive Expand Access to Care Program which funds facilities that are essential for continued viability of the state’s medical and dental school and its academic health center.

“This grant award, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, will enable Ohio State University to provide much needed inpatient and outpatient clinical care for the people of Ohio and the surrounding regions that they serve. Ohio State University will also be able to make significant improvements to their research capabilities which will help lead to new economic opportunities across the state,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, R.N., Ph.D. “Congress set out clear criteria in the law about what was needed to receive this grant and Ohio State University applied as part of our open competition. They were selected by our external objective review committee and we are delighted to make this award to them. We look forward to working closely with Ohio leaders like Sen. Brown and Ohio State officials as this project moves forward. We believe this grant will not only help patients across the state but also the next generation of researchers, teachers and health care providers.”

“The strategic investment of federal funding to help grow Ohio State’s highly ranked academic medical center ensures our ability to improve the lives of countless patients and their families for generations to come,” said Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee. “It strengthens our capacity to leverage the signal innovations that occur at the intersection of life-sciences education and clinical care. All of us at Ohio State are grateful for the federal funding that makes these advances possible, and particularly to Sen. Brown for his championing of the project.”

Slated to be completed by 2014, the $1 billion ProjectONE includes a new cancer hospital, critical care tower, outpatient center, research laboratories and classrooms — all designed to advance the medical center’s mission to improve people’s lives through innovation in patient care, education, and research. By 2015, OSU estimates the project will create 5,000 construction jobs and more than 10,000 full time jobs in Ohio – 6,000 at the medical center and 4,000 created from spending by Ohio State, its faculty, staff, and visitors.