Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has announced that Ohio State University is receiving a $100 million grant for a construction project at OSU Medical Center.
The funding, distributed by the Health Resources and Services Administration, was awarded through a competitive grant program created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.
“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.”
The funding will support ProjectONE, billed as the largest construction project in university history, which 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.
“Congress set out clear criteria in the (healthcare) law about what was needed to receive this grant and Ohio State University applied as part of our open competition,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield. “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 Senator Brown and Ohio State officials as this project moves forward.”
Slated to be completed by 2014, 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 officials estimate 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.
"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 Senator Brown for his championing of the project."