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The Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care
Massachusetts General Hospital opens
New England's largest ambulatory facility
BOSTON - October 13, 2004 - Massachusetts General Hospital
this week welcomed the first patients to its sparkling new Yawkey
Center for Outpatient Care, the largest ambulatory facility
in New England, and dedicated the distinctive glass and steel facility
to providing excellent health care to all those who come through
its doors.
The 10-story Yawkey Center, named in honor of the late, long-time
owners of the Boston Red Sox, provides more than 400,000 square
feet of much-needed space for the outpatient activities of some
key MGH services. The MassGeneral
Hospital for Children, the Musculoskeletal
Program, Cardiology
Program, Women's
Health and MGH
Radiology began seeing patients in the new building Tuesday,
Oct. 12. The MGH
Cancer Center and the MGH In
Vitro Fertilization Unit will move into the Yawkey Center in
December.
"The opening of the Yawkey Center marks a new era in patient
care at our hospital," said MGH President Peter L. Slavin,
MD, at a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Oct.
13. Speaking to a gathering of MGH staff and distinguished guests,
including Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Yawkey Foundation Executive
Director John Harrington, Slavin noted that the new facility "enables
the hospital to organize its outstanding care and services in a
more convenient and logical way for patients and families. The additional
space means that we can accommodate more effectively the increasing
number of patients who want to come to the MGH for their primary
and specialty care."
The MGH and its community health centers currently handle more 1.5
million outpatient and emergency visits a year, a figure that has
been growing anywhere from 5 to 15 percent a year. This growth is
expected to continue with advancing technology, better medications,
expansion of special programs for high-risk individuals, reductions
of certain services at other area health care facilities and the
aging of the population.
Planned, designed and constructed with patients in mind, the Yawkey
Center features soothing and cheerful colors that provide a nurturing
environment. Waiting areas are spacious, comfortable and private,
and patients can enjoy spectacular views of the Charles River and
the Boston skyline from the upper floors. The lobby includes a coffee
shop, gift shop and the full-service Riverside Café, which
will open in December. A special feature will be a restful and inspirational
rooftop healing garden, slated to open next spring. A six-level,
725-space underground garage offers direct elevator access into
the building.
Walsh Brothers Construction is contractor for the project. Architects
for the shell and core are Cambridge Seven Associates, with associate
architect Michael Fieldman, and Ann Beha Architects, consultant.
Fit-out architects are Perkins & Will with Steffian Bradley
Architects.
The total cost of the Yawkey Center is $219 million, with about
half attributed to generous donors, including the $25 million commitment
from the Yawkey Foundation, which was announced in 2002. Jean R.
Yawkey, who with her husband, Tom, owned the Boston Red Sox for
59 years, received her medical care at the MGH. She was a strong
advocate of the work of the hospital and supported many of its programs
and initiatives. Since Mrs. Yawkey's death in 1992, the foundation's
trustees have continued her tradition of charitable giving to the
MGH.
The Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care is the first of several construction
projects in the immediate area that are helping transform the Charles
Circle area into a beautiful gateway into the city of Boston. Across
the street from the Yawkey Center, work on a new handicapped-accessible
Charles/MGH T Station is progressing. In addition, construction
is expected to begin soon to renovate the historic Charles Street
Jail facility into a high-quality and distinctive hotel.
Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the third
oldest general hospital in the United States and the oldest and
largest in New England. Each year, the 900-bed hospital admits approximately
45,000 inpatients, handles 1.5 million outpatient visits at the
main campus and health centers, records 75,000 emergency department
visits, and delivers more than 3,600 babies. The original teaching
hospital of Harvard Medical School, the MGH conducts the largest
hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual
research budget of more than $400 million. In 1994, MGH and Brigham
and Women's Hospital joined to form Partners HealthCare, an integrated
health care delivery system comprising teaching, community and specialty
hospitals, a network of physician groups and nonacute and home health
services.
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Media Contact: MGH Public Affairs 617 726-2206
Physician Referral Service: 1-800-388-4644
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