WVU Medicine is tackling one of the toughest challenges in the state of West Virginia related to high rates of heart disease with a new $80 million Heart and Vascular Institute on its Morgantown campus. The need for a comprehensive heart and vascular center has never been higher. A study done by The American Heart Association reported that about 4,900 people die each year in West Virginia due to heart disease, the state’s No. 1 killer.

Many of the key building elements, including the inner core, shell, column spacing, floor-to-ceiling height, load-bearing capacity, and utility distribution, were already in place when HED joined the project.

The HED team had just 15 months to transform the layout — which was slated to be a children’s hospital when construction started — into a state-of-the-art academic, research, and surgical heart and vascular center. The 10-story facility, which includes clinic and education space, interventional radiology, and an ICU, had to connect with the existing buildings on campus while creating a new patient-centric experience. HED met the aggressive schedule by utilizing design-assist, design-build and an intense amount of creativity to deliver the project.

The success of the cardiac program is evident in the increased procedures occurring at the Heart and Vascular Institute.