tBeaumont Health System has opened the doors to its new $22 million neuroscience center, which brings together all of the neuro-related clinics in one facility on the campus of the Royal Oak Hospital.
t“Imagine that you’re having headaches and you have to go to one building for a neurologist, another for testing, and another for a neurosurgeon,” says Victoria Hollingsworth, vice president of neuroscience administration at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. “(The new center) gives patients the direct advantage of coming to one location for a diagnosis and a treatment plan.”
tThe 80,000-square-foot, three-story building will house programs and clinics dedicated to the spine; pediatric and adult epilepsy; stroke; craniofacial care (or the correction deformities of the face and skull, such as a cleft palette); brain and spine tumors; neuromuscular; neurophysiology; aneurysm; and peripheral nerve. It also includes four new clinics devoted to concussions, Parkinson’s, neuro-oncology, and chiari malformation, or defects in the part of the brain that controls balance.
tThe center includes video-wired conference rooms to allow for greater collaboration between physicians as well as advanced EEG equipment to help diagnose brain disorders, such as epilepsy and stroke. The center also includes a high-tech audiology booth to assess hearing in children and adults, and craniofacial rooms equipped with dental chairs to enhance patient comfort while giving greater access to the oral cavity.
t“Dr. Fernando Diaz (director of neurosurgery at Beaumont) has wanted to combine all of the neurosciences since he first came here (in 2006),” Hollingsworth says. “And that includes neurology, neurosurgery, otolaryngology, and ophthalmology. Typically, it’s hard to combine all of those services together, but that was really our ultimate goal.”
tAbout 40 employees will be based at the neuroscience center, although Hollingsworth expects that number to grow. “These clinics were originally scattered throughout the Royal Oak campus, so by coming together in this one building, they have more space to grow and more opportunities to see patients at any given time. As the clinics continue to grow, we’ll employ more individuals to support those clinics’ functions,” she says
tThe neuroscience center is the first freestanding building on the Royal Oak campus in more than a decade, says Shane Cerone, Beaumont’s president in Royal Oak. It was developed by Royal Oak-based T.H. Marsh Construction and designed by HKS Architects in Northville.
tIn 2013, the Royal Oak campus saw about 11,000 neuroscience inpatient admissions/surgical procedures. This does not include outpatient procedures or clinic visits, Hollingsworth says.
