Thanks to Bill and Kathy Hudson and LC Industries for their generosity toward the new state-of-the-art clinical Duke Eye Center in Durham, NC.
From: Victor J. Dzau, M.D., Chancellor for Health Affairs; CEO, DUHS
Subject: Ceremonial Ground-Breaking for New Eye Center Clinical Facility
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Groundbreaking for the new clinical Duke Eye Center
This morning we held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new, state-of-the-art Duke Eye Center building that will add much-needed clinical examination space and enhance the patient experience.
The ceremony celebrated the team effort that has turned this dream of building a new Eye Center clinical facility into a reality. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of our legion of generous donors, the Health System, the School of Medicine and the faculty, we are planning to move forward with our goal to expand our current vision care services, and take our commitment to provide the highest quality eye care to the next level.
Planning for this building began in 2010 when we received a generous $12 million donation from Durham-based LC Industries, the largest employer of visually impaired people in the country.
The construction project is expected to take about three years to complete, and includes plans for a 127,000-square-foot facility. The four-story building will house expanded clinical services designed to improve workflow and maximize patient care and convenience. It will be constructed in the parking lot adjacent to the current Wadsworth Eye Center building, and will be connected on the clinic and operating-room levels to maximize access to existing services. A new circular, covered drop-off area will connect the new facility to the parking deck, and a new outdoor courtyard is planned between the current and new building.
The new facility comes at a time when demand for vision services is growing rapidly. We have great doctors who deliver great care, and with this new facility, we will be able to continue to provide the people of North Carolina with the kind of advanced eye care they have come to expect at Duke.
Bill Hudson, Ruth Albert, Dr. Alan Carlson