VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center officials gathered outside the old Central Power Plant in the heart of the hospital complex to officially launch construction of a state-of-the-art, 16-level, critical care bed tower.

The $110 million facility, which is expected to be in operation in 2007, will allow a major expansion of the MCV Hospitals Emergency Department, the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center. It also will expand the medical center’s critical-care capacity with new intensive care units for surgical trauma, neonatal, cardiac, neuroscience, medical respiratory and burn center patients.

The 356,000 square-foot building will have five underground floors and 11 above-ground stories that will connect to the existing Main Hospital.

“This is an exciting time in the history of the VCU Medical Center,” said VCU President Dr. Eugene P. Trani, who explained that his first construction project as president of the university involved the old steam plant, the site of the new bed tower.

In the early 1990s, the General Assembly approved the construction of a new power plant at 17th Street, which led to the abandonment of old steam plant about 10 years ago. Asbestos abatement and demolition preparation will continue at the old plant through February, when the building will be torn down. Construction of the bed tower will begin in the spring, with completion anticipated in late fall of 2007.

“This is the first construction project under the VCU 2020 master site plan, which sets the vision of the VCU Medical Center as a nationally preeminent academic medical center,” Dr. Trani said.

MCV Hospitals CEO John Duval said the project inauguration is the culmination of a tremendous amount of work over the past 18 months. “It is the beginning of a new era of investment at the VCU Medical Center – investment in programs, people and facilities,” Duval said.

The new bed tower increases the ratio of private to semi-private beds from 37 percent to 79 percent. The average size of a room will increase to 250 square-feet, providing flexibility for medical equipment, treatment and family and friends who visit.

Richard Wenzel, M.D., president of MCV Physicians, said the 600 doctors in the health system’s practice plan are looking forward to making rounds in a new facility that will provide improved comfort and safety for patients.

“Our team approach to taking care of patients will flourish” Wenzel said. “This is a new dawn at the VCU Medical Center as we move from prominence to preeminence.”

The construction of the new bed tower begins a multi-year domino effect of renovation, replacement and new construction on the MCV Campus, according to Sheldon Retchin, M.D., VCU Health System CEO and VCU vice president for Health Sciences.

Ground soon will be broken for a new School of Nursing at 11th and Leigh Streets. Future plans also include a Medical Sciences Building II, new School of Medicine, new School of Public Health, and replacing North Hospital with a cancer hospital that is part of an expanded VCU Massey Cancer Center.

“The new bed tower is a key step, but not the last step in the modernization and redevelopment of the VCU Medical Center and the MCV Campus,” Retchin said.

The construction timeline for the $110 million facility includes completion of the exterior building in December 2006, substantial completion in late October 2007 and move-in between November 2007 and February 2008.