Surgery Center are (l-r) Brian E. Keeley, president and CEO of Baptist Health South Florida; Bo Boulenger, CEO of
Baptist Hospital of Miami; Rudy Kranys, chair of Baptist Health Foundation; Calvin Babcock, chair of the board of
Baptist Hospital; Dr. Michael Fili, president of Baptist Hospital medical staff, and Dr. Barry T. Katzen, founder and
medical director of Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute.
Baptist Hospital of Miami launched a $90 million construction project to expand Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute and Baptist Hospital’s Surgery Center with a recent groundbreaking ceremony.
The expansion will be built onto the southeast corner of the Institute, adjacent to the Surgery Center. The new facility is expected to open in 2016. The investment reflects Baptist Health’s commitment to bringing the latest medical advances to the community. Among new programs planned by the Institute is a National Center for Aneurysm Therapy, Center for Advanced Endovascular Therapy, and a Center for Structural Heart Therapy.
Some areas of the existing facility will be renovated and four advanced endovascular procedure suites will be added. Plans designed by HKS Architects call for a 60,000-square-foot addition and a 40,000-square-foot renovation.
“Our vision is bold and grandiose,” Barry T. Katzen, MD, the Institute’s founder and medical director, told the crowd gathered to witness the groundbreaking.
“We are building so that we can care for health problems we don’t even know exist yet. We are building to change the future of medicine,” he added.
“Under the leadership of Dr. Katzen, the Institute has played a significant role in the success of Baptist Hospital and Baptist Health,” said Bo Boulenger, CEO of Baptist Hospital. “Our physicians have pioneered less invasive techniques to treat aneurysms, stroke and heart disease and participated in many groundbreaking research trials. This expansion not only is an investment in our community, but it allows us to expand on the world stage and to tackle the most difficult cases that other hospitals and doctors turn away.”
Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute opened in 1987 with two doctors, six staff members and two interventional procedure suites. Today, there are more than 300 doctors and 500 employees, eight procedure rooms and three diagnostic imaging rooms. The Institute has 125,000 patient visits a year.
“The expansion will be a great gift for our community and beyond,” Dr. Katzen said. “We will be able to conduct more research, make discoveries that could transform how cardiovascular care is delivered and offer new services.”
The expansion project also includes the enlargement of Baptist Hospital’s Surgery Center with six large operating rooms dedicated to neuroscience, cardiac and robotic surgery. An intraoperative MRI — a technology not currently available south of Orlando — will move between two dedicated operating rooms for specialists at the Baptist Health Neuroscience Center to use in intricate surgeries involving the brain and spine.
“Baptist Health is committed to remaining at the forefront of healthcare advances,” said Baptist Health president and CEO Brian E. Keeley. “The new intraoperative MRI will give our specialists at the Neuroscience Center an advanced tool to serve the needs of our patients.”
Baptist Hospital and Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization in the region. It also includes Baptist Children’s Hospital, South Miami Hospital, Homestead Hospital, Doctors Hospital, West Kendall Baptist Hospital, Mariners Hospital and outpatient locations in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.
Baptist Health Foundation, the organization’s fundraising arm, supports services at all hospitals and facilities affiliated with Baptist Health.
For more information, visit www.baptisthealth.net/BaptistHospita
