als12179 said:
I asked my interviewers about the cancer center and one said that it was a "sales gimmick." Which was kind of surprising. He was also pretty derogatory about the HCA partnership. However, it does seem like there have been a lot of improvements to the facilities in the last few years... hopefully more to come.
I'm going from memory here so not all of this may be completely accurate (but it's close).
I don't know who your interview was, but I don't think that the cancer center is a gimmick. It should really put us on the map in a big way. The closest comprehensive cancer centers are in Texas and the larger cities to the north. We will have the only comprehensive care center for a several hundred mile radius around the Oklahoma City area. I think that the cancer center will be approximately a ten story building. The new research facitlity to go along with it is the elongated building adjacent to the library (another massive structure). It will house three linear accelerators and a bunch of other fancy equipment. That is in addition to the BMSB, Biomedical Research Center, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Dean McGee Eye Institute, and various facilities in the BSEB and William's Pavilion. All of these places are bigtime research. I don't care to do much research myself (although I will this summer), but it does make the institution look much more legit in the academic world.
Additionally, there will be a massive addition to Everett Tower in the form of a mirror-glass like building located on the west side similar to the structure of Baptist Hospital in OKC. It will include a new atrium entrance, a 16,000 sq foot teaching facitlity (so I hear), and new OB/gyn facilties.
At presby, they are already working on improvements to the level one trauma center. It will include a new wing for beds, emergency ORs, and a total of four helipads (gotta ride a helicopter at some point even if I don't do anything else).
There will also be a new sky walk built to connect Everett Tower to Presby (for those of us who don't like the cold and transfer of patients). I've been told that there will be vacuum tubes built into the floor of this skyway for rapid transport of lab samples to the robotic lab over at Everett and back. I hear that the robotic lab is really cool, but I haven't seen it yet.
The new Children's Hospital will be eight floors (I think). It will be the only comprehensive care center of its kind in the state. This is a much needed improvement considering the age of the current structure.
Lastly, and the most important to us in the first two years is the gutting of the BSEB. They are forming focus groups right now to look at how to rennovate the mods, lecture halls, and study space to facilitate our educations and be a little more ergonomical.
Like I said earlier, I think that this is very exciting stuff. I feel like the school will only continue to grow in prestige over the next several years. It kinda makes me feel a little better knowing that the school will be better after I've left (at least it helps to validate the massive costs of all this education).
