As Michigan Medicine prepares for the public unveiling Nov. 12 of the new D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion, university leaders instrumental in its development look back at how the ambitious project first took shape — and the life-changing potential that awaits its opening.

The $920 million, 12-story facility includes 264 private inpatient rooms capable of converting into intensive care, a leading neurosciences center and specialty services for cardiovascular and thoracic care. It will also feature 20 surgical and three interventional radiology suites. When all is complete, a total of 176 new inpatient bed licenses will be added to the medical campus in Ann Arbor.

But before a foundation could be laid, numerous minds and voices combined to project the needs of a complex academic health system that is committed to patient care excellence, scientific discovery and education.

“We are grateful to the faculty and staff leaders for enhancing Michigan Medicine’s position as the premier health care provider serving the people of Michigan and beyond,” said President Domenico Grasso. “This addition will attract the best physicians and staff who look to Michigan as a place to advance patient care, research and teaching.”

Mark Schlissel was U-M president and chair of the U-M Health Board as the formal project planning for the new hospital began, sponsored by Marschall Runge, executive vice president for medical affairs and CEO of Michigan Medicine. Tony Denton was senior associate director and chief operating officer of U-M Health. Aditya Pandey is the Julian T. Hoff M.D. Professor of Neurosurgery and Chair of the U-M Health Department of Neurosurgery.

The big idea

In the mid-2000s, U-M’s adult hospital was already at more than 90% occupancy, and an aging population suggested facility demand and use were going to increase. The university first visualized a new hospital smaller in scope, with a $500 million investment, leaving space for future growth. 

During the early planning phases, leaders quickly realized that demand was shifting higher than originally anticipated. That led U-M Health leadership and the Board of Regents to increase the scope of the ultimate plan and fully build out the available capacity, with a project budget of $920 million.

“It’s been a long time coming, and it’s a very exciting project,” said Schlissel, now professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology in LSA.

Schlissel said the location and scope of the project was driven by U-M’s responsibility to provide quality health care while teaching tomorrow’s doctors.

“Often at universities, the medical schools are located in a different location than their impressive academic facilities,” he said. “The strength of U-M is that our medical facility is literally across the street. This allows people to learn about and study and make contributions to medicine that they would ordinarily not have the opportunity.”

Input from health and academic leaders shaped what would become the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion. Schlissel said the facility is the result of everyone who has a direct hand in clinical care having a seat at the planning table. The hospital expands the footprint of clinical care, increases single, private room capacity and incorporates leading technology and communication.

Denton, now senior vice president and chief environmental, social and governance officer at Michigan Medicine, said university leaders, including the Board of Regents, the U-M Health Board, Schlissel and many others, recognized the importance of a significant investment in capacity and access to highly complex patient care, providing a long-term solution for generations to come.

​​“Patients that come to us are the sickest of the sick,” Denton said. “Our caregiver teams are dedicated to utilizing their talents to diagnose and treat patients to achieve positive health outcomes.

“The needs of the populations we serve and the aging of the adult university hospital combined to make the case for this essential investment in enhancing access to care to benefit patients, families and communities. There was unanimous support and championing of our aims to expand our world-class health enterprise.”

Regents approved the construction project in 2019, with work pausing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resuming in spring 2021.

The possibilities

Neurosurgery is one of the pavilion’s specialties, and Pandey said the facility offers a blank slate for potential medical advancements.

“I see it as the opportunity for us to deliver the most outstanding care today and guarantee that it’ll be better tomorrow. The opening of the Pavilion will immediately enhance the care that we deliver,” Pandey said.

For example, the endovascular suite where patients will get stroke treatment has a built-in CT scanner, meaning patients can get the imaging and the procedure in one room, saving precious time. The pavilion also has an MRI built inside an operating room suite so doctors can immediately image brain after operation, to guarantee the pathological lesion has been removed.

Pandey said the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion will immediately allow for research opportunities to improve that care, including using AI to examine brain scans, which could lead to transformative assistance in generating precise diagnoses.

“We have taken a mission to drive toward incisionless brain surgery,” he said. “This pavilion will serve as that foundation for us to initiate some of these potential trials.”

The pavilion will also create for the future of histotripsy-based minimally invasive and incisionless brain surgery. In other advancements, teams will work to restore function to people with stroke or traumatic brain injury using brain-computer interface technology.

Denton said the new hospital also provided the opportunity to demonstrate environmental sustainability design concepts. The pavilion is designed to meet LEED Platinum certification, which is thought to be the first of its kind for a major healthcare facility in North America, under the rigorous LEED standards that emphasize energy-efficient infrastructure, water conservation, use of environmentally friendly materials and indoor environmental quality.

The rewards

For Schlissel, a nationally recognized biomedical researcher, seeing the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion open its doors is a gratifying moment.

“During all my years as U-M president, the ability to positively influence our health system was one of the most satisfying parts of my job,” he said.

Mark Bernstein, chair of the Board of Regents, is appreciative of Schlissel’s leadership throughout the establishment of the hospital.

“We are profoundly grateful to President Mark Schlissel. This building would not be here without his extraordinary vision and commitment to healthcare,” he said. 

The open house on Nov. 12 is the first chance for the U-M community and public to tour the facility.

“This milestone represents the largest increase in our adult inpatient capacity in four decades. It is the culmination of the hard work and vision of so many people to meet the evolving health care needs of the communities we are privileged to serve. I am deeply grateful to all our team members and supporters who made this possible,” said David C. Miller, U-M’s executive vice president for medical affairs and CEO of Michigan Medicine.

For Denton, the best is yet to come.

“The Pavilion is like a large house. It’s what will happen inside the house when we open … the patients and families who will benefit, that to me is the sweetness of this investment,” he said. “It’s an investment in our broad community, a legacy milestone for Michigan Medicine. The ongoing rewards of expanding access to treatment, caring, healing, health and hope that will happen in this new health home on a daily basis, that makes this a special moment in time for all of us.”

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