Enhancing the Patient Journey

Located in The Innovation District at OSU, the new James Outpatient Care represents a major advancement in cancer treatment, research, and patient-focused ambulatory care.

The facility boasts a welcoming and light-filled atmosphere. Upon entering the building, patients are greeted by a two-story atrium filled with natural light. The first floor features essential public spaces, including a prominent reception desk, a spacious dining area with an outdoor terrace, and a centralized registration area.

The comprehensive services provided at The James Outpatient Care encompass a range of medical specialties, including a state-of-the-art perioperative/procedure center with eight operating rooms and necessary support facilities, Interventional Radiology, an Extended Recovery Unit, Imaging, Lab, and Pharmacy. It also includes a 600 car parking garage, which will expand to 2,000 cars in later phases.

Notably, this project houses Central Ohio’s first Proton Therapy Center, developed in collaboration with Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The center is comprised of three vaults, along with supportive imaging, examination rooms, preparation/recovery areas, administration spaces, and proton management/maintenance services.

Occupying a significant portion of the outpatient facility, the Proton Therapy Center provides next generation radiation treatment that uses highly charged protons to target tumors with exceptional accuracy. This form of treatment dramatically reduces radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue and is particularly significant for complex or surgically inoperable cancers.

The center also includes dedicated research space to support clinical and translational studies in radiation oncology. The effort reflects a $100M investment in next-generation cancer treatment for the region.

The goal for Phase One was to relocate a majority of OSUWMC Doan/Rhodes/James ambulatory surgical/procedure services to a lower cost setting that supports patient convenience while still including future paths to accommodate growth and operational optimization for clinics, infusion, radiation therapy and faculty services for cancer and non-cancer services. To cater to this patient population, various elements have been thoughtfully located to provide an enhanced patient journey—intuitive wayfinding, clear access to restrooms & seating areas have been located along major circulation paths to provide moments of respite. These were all important elements that were outlined in DesignGroup’s Patient Experience Mapping exercise.

This project is in collaboration with Perkins+Will. DesignGroup led the design and documentation of the interiors.