Staking the future for Baylor College of Medicine
By Lori Williams
Baylor College of Medicine broke ground May 23 on its new health care campus, with college leaders, faculty, trainees, students and staff taking part in an event that demonstrated the visible start of the college's blueprint for the future.
"Many people in this great institution have worked very hard for this day," said BCM President and CEO Peter G. Traber, M.D. "Now, it's time to put the stake in the ground for an enormously exciting future for Baylor College of Medicine."
Helping Traber stake the "Future Home of the Baylor Clinic and Hospital" sign were Robert H. Allen, chair of the BCM board of trustees, and Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., trustee and chair of the College's fundraising campaign.
Best Minds, Best Medicine campaign launched
Moments before the groundbreaking, Robertson announced that the Best Minds, Best Medicine campaign had set a target of raising $1 billion for clinical, research and education projects and was already approaching the halfway mark.
"Baylor College of Medicine is one of the central spokes of the Texas Medical Center because of the great philanthropy that we've experienced here in the city of Houston and around the state. Baylor's campaign is shaping up to be one of the biggest campaigns in the history of Texas and is the biggest campaign in Houston," said Robertson.
The campaign started with a silent phase three years ago and has now raised more than $492 million. Read more about the campaign.
The groundbreaking event was attended by members of all sectors of the College. Participants in the ceremony included board members, donors, faculty, staff, trainees and students. The tree-lined property covers 35 acres and is within a mile of the main BCM campus.
'Obligation to excellence'
The campus will include an adult hospital, outpatient clinics, faculty offices and research space. The fully integrated health care facility, which will focus on personalized, gene-based medicine, will be open for business in 2010.
The hospital will mark the first time in its history that BCM has had its own inpatient facility.
"We're doing what we must do, which is to build a hospital that we control and to pursue a different level of excellence," said Allen. "Our obligation to the community is to pursue excellence and building the hospital will permit us to meet that obligation."
The college has strong affiliations with teaching hospitals and other institutions in the Texas Medical Center.
"Baylor is built around collaboration," said Traber. "We have outstanding relationships with very fine institutions in the medical center. We're proud of the important role we play at Ben Taub General Hospital, the DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Texas Children's Hospital, The Menninger Clinic, The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. Our partnerships are key to the success that we've had and will continue to have." Read more about our affiliates. Link to affiliates page.
Groundbreaking represents team spirit
Traber invited representatives of student groups, trainees, faculty and staff, along with donors and community supporters, to participate in the groundbreaking.
"This is a team effort. Everybody needs to be involved," he said.
Speaking of the new health care campus, Traber said, "It's the first time that I know of in this region that a facility – outpatient clinic, faculty offices, diagnostic and therapeutic services and an inpatient facility – are all being built in an integrated way, on a platform of digital technology. This will provide enormous opportunities for improving patient care and safety and for integrating our programs so that we deliver the type of care that we really want to, which is personalized and at the same time focused on the most recent advances in medicine."
Following the groundbreaking ceremony and Best Minds, Best Medicine campaign update, the College held a picnic for more than 9,000 faculty, trainees, students and staff.
"Baylor is a top-ranked medical school because of what each individual contributes on a daily basis," said Traber. "It is most appropriate that all members of the Baylor family celebrate what is clearly a very significant day for the College. We have staked our future and it's a good one – for our institution, for Houston and for the nation."
