On the Occasion of the Grand Opening of Keio University Hospital

2022/05/18

Image: Keio University Hospital, which celebrated its grand opening on May 16

Construction of the entrance building and exterior landscaping at Keio University Hospital was completed at the end of April 2022, and the grand opening finally took place on May 16, following the Golden Week holidays. Crossing Gaien-higashi-dori Avenue from Shinanomachi Station, visitors are greeted by a lushly landscaped exterior approach that embodies the design concept of the new hospital building (Building 1), "Keio Forest." Passing through the "Mori no Gate" (Forest Gate), which serves as the entrance to the hospital grounds, the tree-lined "Mori no Promenade" (Forest Promenade) leads visitors to the entrance. Arriving at the new main entrance, visitors will see the "Mori no Terrace" (Forest Terrace) wood deck and the "Mori no Plaza" (Forest Plaza) on the left, which serve as places for rest and relaxation.

Upon entering the main entrance, a bust of Yukichi Fukuzawa is installed on the left, and on the right, Medical Street extends straight toward Building 1, the main hospital building. LCD panels are embedded in the walls of the pillars to provide various useful information to visitors. Architecture, interior design, and lighting come together to express the entire hospital as an image of a forest, creating a cozy and comfortable environment for patients, families, faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, while visitors arriving by car have experienced inconvenience during the construction period, the space in front of the main entrance has been developed with a drop-off area and a visitor parking lot capable of accommodating a total of 207 vehicles.

I would like to briefly look back at the history of the new hospital building (Building 1) construction project. The momentum to rebuild Keio Hospital, which had become significantly aged and was finding it difficult to meet patient needs, grew on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Keio University in 2008. However, at that time, the hospital's annual balance before the transfer to the capital fund was consistently in the red, and improving the financial and income-expenditure balance was a prerequisite for the construction of the new hospital building (Building 1). Under the leadership of the Keio University corporation and the executive management of the School of Medicine and the hospital, various management reforms were implemented, and a surplus has been achieved since 2009.

The New Hospital Building Construction Planning Committee was established in 2010, and in 2012, a basic concept was formulated under the goal of "Building a world-class comprehensive medical institution centered on the construction of a new hospital." While it was extremely difficult to construct the new hospital building (Building 1) while ensuring the safe and reliable provision of medical care on the cramped Shinanomachi Campus, a detailed plan for rolling medical functions and building scrap-and-build was formulated. In 2014, construction began on Phase I of Building 1, which was completed in 2015. Furthermore, in 2016, construction began on Phase II, the core of the project, which was completed in 2018, completely integrating Phase I and Phase II. Building 1 (the new hospital building (Building 1)), an 11-story structure with two basement levels and seismic isolation, opened on May 7, 2018, and became fully operational. In the following fiscal year of 2019, a total of 870,000 patients (an average of 3,252 per day) visited the outpatient clinic, 310,000 (an average of 846 per day) were hospitalized, and over 16,000 underwent surgery, fulfilling its function as a hub for Keio medical sciences providing advanced, high-level medical care.

On the other hand, the construction of the entrance building and exterior landscaping, which was originally scheduled for completion in 2020—the 100th anniversary of the opening of Keio Hospital—was completed approximately two years later than planned. This was due to factors such as the simultaneous renovation of Buildings 2 and 3 and the impact of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The project was finalized by demolishing the old Building 1, famous for the late actor Yujiro Ishihara waving from the rooftop during his hospitalization, and constructing the new entrance building, which was then connected to the current Building 2.

The construction funds for the new hospital building (Building 1) (the initial budget was 30 billion yen, later increased to 36 billion yen) could not be covered solely by expenditures from the Keio University corporation and reserves from hospital revenue; the plan was to cover 10 billion yen of the costs through fundraising. On January 1, 2013, a project started with Yoshiaki Toyama, then Vice-President in charge of the Shinanomachi Campus, as the chair of the Fundraising Strategy Committee. We received tremendous support and generous donations not only from members of Sanshikai, the School of Medicine alumni association, but also from the wider Keio Gijuku Shachu, patients, and related companies. In March 2018, we achieved a fundraising amount that exceeded our goal.

This project, which could be called the largest in the history of the Gijuku, was carried out through the unified efforts of successive Presidents—former President Atsushi Seike, former President Akira Haseyama, and current President Kohei Itoh—along with the Gijuku executive board and successive Shinanomachi executive boards. With this grand opening, the project is effectively complete. I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude for the hard work and dedication of the many people involved, as well as the support from many others, including the Keio Gijuku Shachu. Furthermore, I am deeply grateful to our patients for continuing to visit Keio Hospital despite the significant inconvenience caused by frequent changes to foot traffic routes during construction.

The faculty and staff at Shinanomachi are delighted to have been provided with this brand-new stage for medical care, and we have renewed our commitment to providing high-quality medical care that is characteristic of Keio and satisfies our patients. Currently, at Keio Hospital, 31 clinical departments are breaking down barriers between one another, and all professions are working together to provide the best team-based medical care to our patients. For intractable diseases such as cancer, immune disorders, and genetic conditions that are extremely difficult to treat, 24 Centers for Interdisciplinary Care (as of the time of writing) consisting of expert teams from multiple clinical departments are providing advanced medical care, serving as a final stronghold for patients with rare diseases visiting from all over the country.

Taking the occasion of this grand opening, the faculty and staff at Shinanomachi will work as one to aim for the further development of Keio medical sciences in the fields of medical care, research, education, and innovation.