Innovation and compassion come together in the new Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown, which opened for patients May 9, 2023, at 36 Linden Ave. in Atlanta.

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University designed the full-service center to support a unique model of patient-centered, multidisciplinary cancer care integrated with innovative research to provide the best patient outcomes and a personalized patient experience.

Located on the Emory University Hospital Midtown campus, the new center will expand Winship’s oncology services there and bring them together into one building. The facility comprises 17 stories and more than 450,000 square feet on three acres. It was made possible in part with a transformational $200 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. A ribbon-cutting event on May 2 celebrating the opening of the building featured remarks from Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and several Emory dignitaries.

Input from more than 160 patients, families and care team members helped the design team see the cancer treatment experience through the patients’ eyes. As a result, Winship at Emory Midtown is built around patient needs and comfort, quality of care and workflow efficiencies.

The care model brings outpatient and inpatient cancer care together in five “care communities” organized by type of cancer, with adjoining floors, shared living rooms and shared care teams of experts from multiple disciplines. Nearly all the services the patients need – from diagnostics and doctors’ appointments, to infusions and support services – will be brought directly to them in the care community by multidisciplinary care teams specialized in their cancer type. Joining outpatient and inpatient care makes for seamless transition if a patient is hospitalized.

“The opening of the new Winship at Emory Midtown is a milestone that we believe will set a new standard in cancer care now and for many years to come,” says Suresh Ramalingam, MD, executive director, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. “The new center perfectly complements our approach to cancer care, which centers around the patient, streamlining and personalizing their care while integrating research to bring them the very latest and most effective treatments. We are thrilled to open the doors on May 9 and welcome in our patients and families.”

“When innovation meets compassion, medicine is at its best,” says Ravi Thadhani, MD, MPH, executive vice president for health affairs, Emory University. “The opening of Winship at Emory Midtown is a culmination of a years-long effort to design and build the very best facility of its kind, putting the patient at the center of the care model and of every design decision.”

The $440 million state-of-the-art building houses 80 inpatient beds and six operating rooms for both inpatient and outpatient procedures. Winship is in the process of hiring 600 new full-time employees, plus new physicians, to staff the new facility.

“Robert Woodruff established Winship in the 1930s to bring the highest standards of cancer care to Georgia. He was determined that Georgians would not need to travel elsewhere for the best cancer treatment. This new facility promises not only to expand access for more patients but also to make cancer treatment much more patient friendly,” says P. Russell Hardin, president of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.

“The Emory mission is to serve humanity, and this extraordinary new facility embodies our highest ideals and aspirations,” says Gregory L. Fenves, Emory University president. “Cancer affects nearly every family, and Emory is bringing world-class medical expertise into this center so that patients get life-changing care and cures.”

Marlena Murphy, a current Winship patient who serves as a member of the Patient and Family Advisory Council and provided input on Winship at Emory Midtown, said, “I was honored to be a part of the team giving insights into what is important from a patient’s perspective, and I am thrilled to see my feedback incorporated. There is so much to like about this new center: from a conveniently located pharmacy to easy parking and lots of windows with natural light and gorgeous views. It is also extremely considerate and empathetic for the patient to be able to be in one private space and have the doctors come to you. A cancer diagnosis and treatment are hard, and this new care concept makes it easier.”

Emory Healthcare partnered with CBRE Healthcare, New York-based architecture and structural engineering firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP (SOM), local architects May Architecture + Interiors and Batson-Cook Construction, to conceive, design and construct the new facility. Construction of the building began in November 2019.

Winship at Emory Midtown includes many thoughtful features designed to ease the burden of the patient’s cancer treatment experience while delivering advanced care.

Highlights include:

• Offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient cancer care, including radiation treatment, surgery, infusions, interventional radiology, diagnostics, imaging, clinical trials, dental oncology, cardio-oncology, oncology rehabilitation, integrative oncology, palliative care, genetic counseling and many other support and wellness services all under one roof.
• Integrates innovative research into cancer prevention and treatments.
• Features up to 24 private care suites per outpatient floor where specialized teams, diagnostics, treatments and support services will be brought to and center around the patient to deliver a personalized experience.
• Includes a wellness center, full-service cafeteria, Starbucks cafe, retail pharmacy and boutique for patients.
• The glass facade enables natural light to flow into care community spaces and patient rooms, but the glass is angled to reduce glare. The glass used in the building is the same type as used in the Freedom Tower in New York City.
• Everything from furniture selection to placement of light switches to shower design was carefully considered with patient comfort and privacy in mind.
• Inpatient rooms are situated at an angle to allow nurses to monitor patients but also give them privacy. Supplies for the room can be restocked from out in the corridor so that staff members do not disturb the patient.
• The aesthetic of the building is clean and modern with touches of warmth from wood and natural material, comfortable furniture and abundant sunlight.
• The stunning, double-height lobby finished in marble and wood welcomes patients and families with a view to the valet-serviced motor court, which features a dramatic roof with an oculus that opens to the sky and DNA helix sculpture at the center, rising from the ground. Since the discovery of the DNA double helix in the 1950s, researchers – including scientists at Winship – have studied how mutations in its strands may lead to diseases like cancer.
• Winship at Emory Midtown is certified as a LEED Silver facility. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions and create healthier places. To achieve LEED certification, the building met prerequisites that address carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality.
• A two-story bridge connects Winship at Emory Midtown to Emory University Hospital Midtown.