Last modified: Monday, August 18, 2008
IU and Clarian Health to dedicate Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center Patient Care Facility
Editors: Building photos are available upon request
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 18, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS -- The dreams of many will be realized Thursday (Aug. 21) when the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center patient care building is formally dedicated during a 4 p.m. ceremony in the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Campus Center.
The $150 million building combines the latest in cancer therapies in one location and provides resources designed to make cancer care less stressful for patients and their loved ones.
The IU Simon Cancer Center facility was made possible through the generosity of many, including Indianapolis philanthropists Melvin and Bren Simon, who donated $25 million to the building project. They also contributed $25 million to the research efforts at the center in memory of their son Joshua Max Simon.
The opening of the new building coincides with the renewal of the IU Simon Cancer Center's designation as a premier cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, a distinction first earned in 1999. The recognition includes a 5-year, $6 million grant. This designation recognizes IU Simon Cancer Center's scientific excellence and supports life-saving research that ultimately benefits patients. The IU Simon Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated cancer center in the state that provides patient care and one of only 63 NCI-designated institutes in the nation.
IU President Michael A. McRobbie will preside over the dedication. Speakers will include President McRobbie; Daniel F. Evans Jr., president and chief executive officer for Clarian Health; Charles R. Bantz, IU executive vice president and chancellor of IUPUI; and D. Craig Brater, IU vice president for life sciences and dean of the IU School of Medicine.
IU will award an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Bren Simon for her philanthropic good works. Her husband, Melvin Simon, holds an honorary law degree from IU. Stephen D. Williams, the HH Gregg Professor of Oncology, who has directed the cancer center since it was formed in 1992, will be presented with an Indiana University Presidential Medal.
The dedication will include a musical tribute by IU Distinguished Professor David N. Baker and his jazz ensemble, and the reading of an original work by poet and IU Simon Cancer Center hematologist/oncologist Larry D. Cripe, titled "There Are Dreams that Surpass all Dreams."
A bronze bust of Joshua Max Simon, created by Marc Mellow, one of America's foremost representational sculptors, will be unveiled by Bren Simon and President McRobbie. The work will be placed in the new building's main lobby.
Other works of art in the building include Rainsong, a mobile-like fluid sculpture, created by Indianapolis artist Jeff Laramore of 2nd Globe Studios; nature photographs contributed by the public and employees; and mosaics created by cancer patients and their families through the Cancer Mosaic Collaborative, part of the CompleteLife Program at the cancer center.
The new cancer care facility is a 405,000-square-foot building that brings inpatient and outpatient cancer care under one roof. The five-story building has 80 private patient rooms with accommodations for family members, private and semi-private space for more than 40 chemotherapy infusion patients, 14 to 16 operating rooms, an expanded radiation oncology suite, the latest in radiology and imaging facilities and a retail pharmacy.
IU Simon Cancer Center patients and families were included on the building's design team to support the mission of the new facility. Their suggestions are seen throughout the building in elements as obvious as the many green spaces available to visitors and as subtle as window shade systems that can be controlled by patients who are sensitive to sunlight.
The new building will open to hospital patients Aug. 27, and on Sept. 2 it will open for outpatient visits. The first surgeries will be Sept. 3.
The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center
The Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center is an Indiana University School of Medicine and Clarian Health partnership. Located in Indianapolis, IU Simon Cancer Center serves as a regional and national referral center for state-of-the-art cancer treatment and is Indiana's only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center that provides patient care. The partnership between IU School of Medicine and Clarian Health is dedicated to establishing a state-wide health care delivery system that is supported by the scientific resources and clinical expertise of the medical school. Its mission is to advance the understanding, prevention and treatment of cancer throughout Indiana and the world with patient-centered care, acceleration of promising science and collaborative educational programs. For more information visit https://www.cancer.iu.edu.
The Indiana University School of Medicine
The Indiana University School of Medicine, which has the second largest number of medical students in the nation, is dedicated to promoting health in the state of Indiana and beyond through innovation and excellence in education, research and patient care. As the state's only medical school, the IU School of Medicine has more than 1,300 students who are educated at nine centers across Indiana. More than 1,200 faculty advance the School's mission and promote life sciences in the Hoosier state. For more information, see https://www.medicine.iu.edu.
Clarian Health
Clarian Health is an Indiana-based, private, non-profit organization, offering a broad base of tertiary services, specialized pediatric care provided by Riley Hospital for Children and a Level 1 Trauma Center. Clarian is Indiana's largest, most comprehensive health center and is one of the busiest hospital systems in the nation. Clarian employs nearly 13,000 employees and owns or is affiliated with 16 hospitals and health centers throughout Indiana, including five in greater Indianapolis: Methodist and Indiana University hospitals, Riley Hospital for Children, Clarian West Medical Center and Clarian North Medical Center. Clarian's mission is to improve the health of patients and the community through innovation and excellence in care, education, research and service. To fulfill its mission, Clarian uses the combined resources of its institutions and partnering organizations and its strong affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine, which is the nation's second largest medical center and a national leader in medical education and research. Clarian Health operates the Methodist Hospital, Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital campuses as a single hospital under Indiana law. See https://www.clarian.org for more information.
