As the Medical Center strives to keep up with modern-day medicine, it will embark on another kind of update this April: planning for its physical structures.
Just two years after the University's master plan was created, Medical Center Architect Greg Warwick will begin coordinating master planning for the Medical Center. "What we hope to do is an update of the University master plan for the medical precinct," Warwick said. "We haven't figured out what we're going to call it."
Warwick explained that because of the wide scope of the first master plan, the Medical Center's portion of the plan was not as focused as it could have been.
Although the process has not yet begun, Warwick identified Medical Center growth and integrating Research Drive as key issues the plan will try to resolve.
"I think the area between Duke Hospital and Duke Clinic is an area where medical growth can occur," Warwick said.
"How we resolve this area will be a fundamental part of a new plan. The hospital itself is approaching 30 years old or so and everything is full. We can't find space for anyone. Growth would probably be in that direction."
Currently, Duke Hospital has about 900 beds and they are all full, said Duke Hospital CEO Mike Israel. He suggested that Durham Regional Hospital, which has a significant amount of extra space, could be used for more patients.
Israel said the Medical Center planning process is part of a larger effort for the entire Health System. He said Raleigh Community Hospital has done a great deal of planning already and that Duke Hospital and Durham Regional will also begin to take part.
"We're working through it," Israel said. "You've got to figure out, is that the most financially prudent thing to do? What are the short-term concerns? What are the long-term concerns?"
Dr. Ralph Snyderman, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of the Health System, said that when he arrived in 1991, he identified genomics, the brain and immunology sciences as top areas of study.
Snyderman predicted those issues, along with the intersection of high-tech initiatives and medicine, would continue to be important as the Medical Center begins planning for the future.
"[The planning committee] is planning to implement a lot of Orefreshment' initiatives for the Health System," he said.
"We have been thinking about these ideas for quite some time, but we are just beginning to look at some of our options."
Snyderman said broad planning topics would include more fully incorporating Durham Regional into the Health System, distribution of medical services, a more effective health care delivery system and better financial performance.
Two years ago, the Board of Trustees approved a campus master plan that listed among its goals making the campus more pedestrian-friendly.
The plan mentioned the Medical Center, but administrators noted there would be additions as institutional needs and academic priorities became more detailed.
Last year, the University approved a long-term plan that outlined those academic and institutional priorities.
"Basically, we overlaid their pre-existing plan into their quadrant. We did not do a lot," said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask, who oversaw the master planning process.
Specifically, the plan hoped to develop the open space at the clinics into a pleasant, usable outdoor space and make the Sarah P. Duke Gardens more visible from the clinics, "softening the character" of Erwin Road to make it less of a barrier and improving the entry to Duke Hospital via Fulton Street.
Jennifer Song contributed to this story.
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