Celebrating the Grand Opening of Keio University Hospital

Photo: 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 will finally take place on May 16, following the Golden Week holidays. Crossing Gaien-higashi-dori Avenue from Shinanomachi Station, visitors will encounter a lushly planted exterior approach that embodies the design concept of the new hospital building (Building 1), "Keio Forest." Passing through the "Mori no Gate" (Forest Gate), 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, while 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 image of a forest throughout the hospital, 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 will now feature a visitor parking lot with a total capacity of 207 vehicles and a driveway.

I would like to briefly look back at the history of the new hospital building construction project. The momentum to rebuild Keio Hospital, which had become significantly aged and difficult to meet patient needs, grew following the 150th anniversary of the founding of Keio University in 2008. At that time, the hospital's annual balance before the provision for basic funds was consistently in the red, and improving finances and the balance of payments was a prerequisite for constructing the new hospital building (Building 1). However, under the leadership of the Keio University corporation and the executive teams 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-leading comprehensive medical institution centered on the construction of a new hospital." Constructing the new hospital building (Building 1) while ensuring the safe and reliable provision of medical care on the cramped Shinanomachi Campus was an extremely difficult task, but a detailed plan for rolling medical functions and scrap-and-build construction was developed. Construction of Building 1 Phase I began in 2014 and was completed in 2015. Furthermore, construction of the Phase II building, the core of the project, began in 2016 and was completed in 2018, completely integrating the Phase I and Phase II buildings. Building 1 (new hospital building (Building 1)), an 11-story seismic-isolated structure with two basement levels, opened on May 7, 2018, and became fully operational. In the following fiscal year 2019, a total of 870,000 patients (average 3,252 per day) visited for outpatient care, 310,000 (average 846 per day) were hospitalized, and over 16,000 underwent surgery, fulfilling its function as a hub for Keio medical sciences providing advanced medical care.

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

The construction funds for the new hospital building (Building 1) (initially budgeted at 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 earnings. Therefore, a plan was made 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 immense support and generous donations not only from members of Sanshikai, the alumni association of the School of Medicine, but also from the wider Keio Gijuku Shachu, patients, and related companies. In March 2018, we achieved a fundraising amount that exceeded our target.

This project, arguably 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 university executive team and successive Shinanomachi executive teams. With this grand opening, the project is effectively complete. This is the result of the hard work and dedication of many involved parties, as well as the support from many people, including the Keio Gijuku Shachu, and I would like to express my heartfelt respect and gratitude. I am also very grateful to our patients for continuing to visit Keio Hospital despite the significant inconvenience caused by frequent changes in traffic flow during construction.

The faculty and staff at Shinanomachi are delighted to have been provided with a brand-new stage for medical care, and we have renewed our commitment to providing high-quality medical care characteristic of Keio that satisfies our patients. Currently, 31 clinical departments at Keio Hospital are working to break down barriers between them, with all professions collaborating 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 specialist teams from multiple clinical departments are providing advanced medical care, serving as the last line of defense for patients with rare diseases from all over the country.

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