The University Hospitals Trust is well underway with its newest effort aimed at elevating children’s healthcare in Oklahoma – the design and construction of a new medical office complex at the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Funded by the University Hospitals Trust and supporters of children’s healthcare in Oklahoma, this new $84 million construction project will create the first freestanding, pediatric multi-specialty physicians building in the state.

The project, currently under construction at the corner of Phillips and NE 13th, has four key components. These include a brand new 290,800 square foot medical office building; a seven-story tall atrium entrance integrating nature and interactive displays for families; a cutting-edge education and conference center to support the needs of the campus; and a new 1,000 space parking garage.

  The 13-story, state-of-the-art medical office building will provide new space for 16 different clinical groups currently located in the existing Children’s Hospital at OU MEDICAL CENTER.

Design and programming for the medical office building continues with assistance from Oklahoma City-based architects, Miles Associates and the project’s construction manager, Flintco of Oklahoma City.

With input from pediatric specialists with OU Children’s Physicians, patient’s families and the community, the goal of the University Hospitals Trust is to create a building that will best meet the needs of pediatric physicians, their young patients and the families of those patients.

Focus groups were held in the fall of 2005 to gather input from families of current pediatric patients. A number of pediatric specialists have also been consulted on an on-going basis to gain their insights on the design and programming of the complex.

  The overall design includes a beautiful glass atrium entrance that will be the crown jewel of the project, serving as a gateway to health for young patients and their families, as well as a new front door for Oklahoma’s Children’s Hospital.

The new building will provide one centralized location, where pediatric patients can visit with their doctors outside the hospital setting. The aim is to create an outpatient facility that is welcoming to pediatric patients and families, while at the same time providing cutting-edge technology and care. It will also provide easier access with better parking and a more user-friendly design.

It is yet another in a growing list of projects undertaken by the University Hospitals Trust in support of its mission to be a catalyst for excellence in research, medical education and patient care.

Since 1998, the University Hospitals Trust has undertaken a number of projects on the health center campus, providing over $77 million in capital related expenditures in support of the University Of Oklahoma College Of Medicine and the OU Health Sciences Center. Those projects include: the OU Physicians medical office building, improvements at the OU College of Dentistry, the Cardiac Arrhythmia Research Institute and Phase II of the Stanton L. Young Biomedical Research Center.

In addition, the Trust has invested $65 million in research and education grants for programs involving the OU Health Sciences Center.

The first phase of the parking garage adjacent to the new OU Children’s Physicians medical office building was completed in December and is already in use, providing more than 500 spaces on the first floor and basement levels of the parking garage.

Located on the corner of NE 13 and Phillips on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus, the parking garage is a key component of the $84 million project. It has been designed and built to provide new and improved parking options for patients and visitors. When both phases of the garage are completed, the three-level structure will provide 1,000 new parking spaces. 

Current access to the garage is through an entrance off of Stanton L. Young Boulevard. A second entrance on Phillips Avenue will open later.

Most of the spaces in the garage are reserved for employees and faculty with about 200 spaces designated for visitor/patient parking.

The cost of parking has not yet been determined. However, early estimates place the cost to park at the new facility at $20 per month for employees, with daily rates of $1 per hour after the first 30 minutes, which are free and a maximum daily charge of $4.

The upper level of the garage will remain closed until a tower crane being used to build the atrium and Medical Office Building is moved, which will be toward the end of construction. Completion of the second and final phase of the parking garage is slated for the spring of 2008.

Our next issue of Advances in Health will feature an expanded look at the Atrium entrance planned as the focal point and major entry of the new OU Children’s Physicians medical office building and the new front door for the Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center, Oklahoma’s premier children’s hospital.