The Duke Center for Integrative Medicine is in the process of finalizing plans for a new 26,985 square-foot, highly specialized facility designed to implement new models of health care, the first of its kind in the country.
The new building, named the Integrative Health Center, has been approved by the Executive Management and Finance committees of the Board of Trustees but is still awaiting final approval from the Building and Grounds Committee Dec. 3.
If the plan is approved, the project will break ground later that month with an expected January 2006 opening date. The Center is located on the Center for Living campus.
Since 1999, DCIM has focused on trying to implement integrative medicine, which aims to transform health care through a holistic approach targeting the mind, body and spirit. This perspective contrasts America’s current care system, which focuses on fighting diseases, DCIM Director Tracy Gaudet said.
This unprecedented facility will serve as a base site to evaluate models of health care and provide customized health plans in the form of clinical care to patients suffering from acute and chronic illnesses. DCIM officials also stressed the importance of the center as a catalyst for change because it will represent a place to model the form of care and show what it looks like in practice.
“DCIM is extremely excited about the possibilities offered by the new building, since it is the first Integrative Medicine Center of its kind in the country,” said Linda Smith, DCIM director of programs and public relations.
The building itself represents Phase I in DCIM’s integrative health model. The center will provide clinical as well as stress management assessments, nutritious meals prepared in an educational kitchen and other workshops throughout the day. Although a patient’s average stay is four days, the goal of this instruction is to support patients so they can take their personalized health care home and, with the help of health coaches provided by the center, continue their progress after they leave.
Although a new building had been in the works for several years, construction of this facility was accelerated by a gift from the C.J. Mack Foundation, the philanthropic organization headed by John and Christy Mack. The approximately $10.5 million gift—which will cover the construction and interior design costs of Phase I—came with the express purpose that the money go to building this facility and jump-starting the program.
“I believe Duke has an international reputation for excellence and cutting edge medicine. I believe Duke is the institution that will be the role model for integrative medicine and how medicine will inevitably be practiced in the future, and that is why I chose Duke,” said Mack, chair of the National Board of Advisors for DCIM. “I could have gone anywhere with this donation, but I chose Duke because of its reputation.”
DCIM does not yet have funding for Phase II, which hopes to include the construction of 35 residential guest rooms and a guest lodge on campus. These living facilities will be an extension of the center where patients can stay to further promote healing. Currently, guests stay at the Washington Duke Inn.
In addition to traditional Gothic Duke features such as arches and buttresses, the center’s architectural design includes the use of sacred geometry and a water-wall in order to provide a healing environment that is both peaceful and aesthetically pleasing.
“The center is designed to be a place where the internal and external environment blend, where you feel a sense of connectedness with yourself and with nature,” Smith said.
Since no other medical center in the country has yet tried to create a living example that successfully implements the ideals of integrative medicine, DCIM officials have high hopes for providing the catalyst to a change in the way patients, doctors and medical students approach health care.
“It is important to have a model to respond to and to provide real leadership to the country in moving in this direction,” Gaudet said. “The center should not just be an island [of medical innovation] without impacting the larger system. If it just does this, I will consider it has failed.”
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