In my discussions with Dr. Brown about the priorities for the Shiley Eye Center, he made a very insightful comment. It is not that we are looking only to expand our research and accommodate our growing clinical care needs, but we are embarking on a decade of medical technology. Given sufficient facilities, faculty and funding we will make discoveries that would not have been feasible even five years ago.

Just as we are living in a time where technology is moving in leaps and bounds - information, communications, and the Internet are moving at incomprehensible speeds, so is medical research. The technology available to us guarantees discoveries will be made in finding cures, ways to identify disease, create new drug therapies and delivery, and provide treatment in shorter time periods than ever before.

In the next decade, due to the technology available, we will witness enormous growth in medical research never before imagined.

On this note, we are excited to bring you up to date on the plans for the Shiley Eye Center Expansion. Over the past few months, we have been working with University planners, the architect firm of Anshen+Allen and several donors who have made lead gifts to the project to get the planning underway.

As it stands, the project will consist of two building components. The first will be a 20,000 gross square foot building located on the south side of the current facility. This facility will house the research component of the expansion. A Retina Research Center and a Glaucoma Research Center focusing on basic and clinical research will be created.

 

The second component of the expansion is an 8,000 gross square foot build-out on the east side of the current facility. This addition will house the Community Ophthalmology Center, a medical library, areas for our residents and fellows, and a multi-purpose educational/community meeting room. The plan also includes 12 new clinical lanes for patient care, and an expanded waiting room.

Overall, the expansion project has been estimated to cost $15 million. This encompasses planning, construction and, equipment, however, it does not include the cost of funding for research programs, additional faculty or endowment funds. These will be addressed as separate needs outlined in our overall two-year campaign.

We are moving forward with this exciting project! It has been estimated that ground breaking may occur as early as Winter 2001. To date approximately $11 million has been committed to the project.

An overall campaign program, including naming opportunities, specific expansion details, and research program needs is being prepared and will be made available to our patients this summer. Meanwhile, if you would like to discuss the project or any questions you may have, feel free to contact me directly at (858) 822-1347.

We look forward to your involvement and support to help realize our vision of an expanded Shiley Eye Center, unequaled patient care, world-renowned education programs, and cutting edge research.

In the next decade, due to the technology available, we will witness enormous growth in medical research never before imagined.