COURTESY OF ARCHITECTS HAWAII
The state provided $150 million from tobacco settlement funds for the Kakaako development, and UH has committed to finding another $150 million in private money.
New day dawns Once threatened with closure, the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine is expanding its faculty and funding, and moving ahead on plans for new facilities at Kakaako.
for med school
UH prepares to hire more
Cancer center favors Queen's area
medical faculty and build a
10-acre complex in KakaakoBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comGroundbreaking is scheduled in October for the first phase of construction in the 10-acre complex, with completion estimated in 2005, said Dr. Edwin C. Cadman.
The new quarters will house a medical school dramatically different than the one the former Yale University professor of medicine joined as dean in mid-1999. He said research funds have quadrupled in three years for the medical school and Pacific Biomedical Research Center.
Meanwhile, an independent committee informed UH this week that it has recommended overturning an April decision by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredits medical schools, to put the Hawaii school's accreditation on probation. The review committee's reversal of the decision on an appeal by the medical school is good news for UH, but the final decision will be made in October by the Liaison Committee board, Cadman said.
The school's troubled history includes recommendations to close it from two faculty committees that developed university reorganization proposals under former UH President Kenneth Mortimer's administration. They said it was a drain on the institution's reduced budget.
Mortimer told the Legislature in the 1999 session that without an extra $3 million a year, the state might have to shut down the school.
COURTESY OF ARCHITECTS HAWAII Cadman's mission has been to revitalize the medical school, make it self-sufficient and develop it into an "economic engine" for the state.
University officials now look to the school to stimulate jobs, increase research and attract biomedical enterprises.
"It is going to be a major facility in the state that's going to contribute to the economy in terms of construction and in terms of biomedical research," said Walter Muraoka of Architects Hawaii, which is designing the new school.
"I've watched Ed Cadman talking to people. His dream is to attract a lot of kids who stay on the mainland, who can't do research here. Hopefully, when the facility is in place, it will keep a lot of bright young minds in the islands and it should attract other bright young people."
Muraoka, who works on designs of health-care facilities in Asia, said those facilities are looking for long-term relationships with the UH medical school.
"One hospital I work with has a lot of English-speaking positions. They do some exchange with the UH medical school now. With the new facility, I foresee newer and greater relationships.
"Once this comes out of the ground, it's going to spark a lot of interest, especially with Japan."
The state provided $150 million from tobacco settlement funds for the Kakaako development, and the university has committed to finding another $150 million in private support.
Rex Johnson, project director for the new medical school, said revenue bonds have been sold and the money is in the bank for the first phase.
Three buildings are planned makai of the Gold Bond Building for the medical school and Pacific Biomedical Research Center. Space is available for another research building in Phase II that was designated for the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.
Johnson said preliminary plans for the first phase include:
>> An education/administration building, about 133,000 square feet, with a cafe, bookstore, learning resource center, simulation center for students to work on robotics, administrative offices, classrooms and an auditorium. One section will be four stories; another, three stories.
>> A research building, about 202,000 square feet, with research laboratories and administrative support offices.
>> An ancillary building, possibly connected to the research building, with a fitness center and child-care services, among other uses.
Jan Yokota, executive director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, said renderings for the school -- the first major Kakaako development -- appear to meet the HCDA's design guidelines for the waterfront area.
"One of the main things is that it does complement the park in back of it rather than overwhelm the park."
The John A. Burns School of Medicine and Pacific Biomedical Research Center: By the numbers
>> Have 190 faculty members who received $42 million in new research and training grants from July 1, 2001, to March 31.
>> Expect a total of $45 million to $50 million in awards this academic year based on the first three quarters.
>> Have $166 million in total funding, including ongoing multiyear awards.
>> Had 1,160 applicants this year for 62 student openings.
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Cancer center
favors Queen’s areaThe Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, originally slated to go into the new medical school complex in Kakaako, hopes to find space closer to the Queen's Medical Center.
The two are exploring the possibility of a joint cancer research center that would treat patients, said Dr. Carl-Wilhelm Vogel, Cancer Research Center director.
"It's not a vote against Kakaako," he said. "It is simply that it would be much more advantageous for the cancer center if it were closer to Queen's and other hospitals."
One of the University of Hawaii's major research arms, the center has no room to grow at its current location next to Queen's Medical Center, 1236 Lauhala St., he said.
Outside funding for the cancer research programs has climbed in two years to about $29 million from $17 million a year, with grants from the National Cancer Institute and other entities, Vogel said.
Art Ushijima, Queen's president and chief executive officer, said discussions about a joint facility are preliminary. "One of the major issues right now really is just a site that would enable this."
Board of Water Supply property next to the Queen's campus has been mentioned as a potential site, but no commitments have been made by the board, he said.
On the Queen's side, Ushijima said, "We're working with our own staff of physicians as to how we can develop a more integrated program between basic and clinical research with direct patient care."
Vogel said the Cancer Research Center will share some space in the new medical school's first research building "because we are so cramped." And if plans do not work out for a joint facility with Queen's, he added, "Yes, we are going to Kakaako."
He said, however, there is not enough space at the 10-acre medical school site for an outpatient clinic or parking.
He said Hawaii's cancer patients would be the primary beneficiaries of a joint cancer center because clinical trials and innovative drugs could be offered that are not available here now.
"Patients wouldn't have to leave the islands for cancer care. We could attract patients from Pacific Rim countries to come here for cancer care, maybe in partnership with a hotel or two. We could attract more research dollars for the state.
"It would be a win-win situation. It would put Hawaii on the map of cancer care."
He said the new National Cancer Institute director, Dr. Andrew Von Eschenbach, will visit here next month to look at the center and review its plans for growth and development.
