Health Education Campus

The Health Education Campus (HEC) is an academic health-sciences complex on the Cleveland Clinic campus in Cleveland, Ohio. It sits near the boundary of the University Circle and Fairfax areas, within Cleveland's Health-Tech Corridor, and was created through a collaboration between Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and Cleveland Clinic. Rather than functioning as a conventional consumer brand, the HEC is a place-based institutional platform whose identity is associated with health-professions education, clinical training, research-oriented learning, and collaboration among different medical disciplines. The campus opened in 2019 after a major construction program comprising the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion and a separate Dental Clinic. Together, the buildings represented an investment reported at approximately $515 million. The Samson Pavilion contains about 477,000 square feet and was designed by Foster + Partners, the London architecture practice led by Norman Foster. Its design received LEED Gold certification, reflecting the project’s emphasis on environmental performance as well as its role as a prominent addition to Cleveland’s medical and educational landscape. The HEC was developed to bring several CWRU and Cleveland Clinic educational activities into a shared setting. Its programs include medical, dental, nursing, and physician assistant education, with the stated objective of advancing interprofessional education. Students and faculty from different health disciplines can therefore learn in an environment designed to encourage cooperation across professional boundaries. Programs associated with the campus include the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences has also been identified among the schools using the campus for classes. The decision to move major educational activities to the HEC was announced in 2013. Before the move, many of the relevant classes were conducted on the CWRU campus or at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. The planned relocation affected the institutional relationships surrounding health education in Cleveland. In 2016, University Hospitals changed the name of its Case Medical Center to University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and renegotiated its affiliation agreement with CWRU; the campus plan was described as a significant factor in those developments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the campus was temporarily adapted for emergency medical use. It was converted into a low-acuity facility called Hope Hospital, with capacity planned for 327 beds in the event of a regional surge. The anticipated surge capacity was ultimately not required. In July 2020, the temporary hospital installation was dismantled so that the buildings could return to their educational function for the fall academic term. The HEC also briefly became a national political venue. On September 29, 2020, the Samson Pavilion hosted the first 2020 United States presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, moderated by Chris Wallace. The event had originally been scheduled for the University of Notre Dame, which withdrew as a host because of concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The debate demonstrated the campus’s capacity to support uses beyond routine instruction, while its primary role remains the education of health-profession students.

The Health Education Campus was conceived as a joint academic and institutional project of Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic. Its purpose was to consolidate and modernize health-professions education while encouraging students from different disciplines to train together. Before the campus was completed, many classes connected with the participating programs were held on the Case Western Reserve campus or at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. The plan to relocate substantial portions of this activity to a shared Cleveland Clinic site was announced in 2013. The development had consequences beyond construction. The planned movement of educational programs contributed to changes in the institutional arrangements among Cleveland’s major medical and academic organizations. In 2016, University Hospitals renamed University Hospitals Case Medical Center as University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and renegotiated its affiliation agreement with Case Western Reserve University. The Health Education Campus therefore became part of a broader reorganization of how medical education and hospital affiliations were presented and administered in the region. Construction produced two principal facilities: the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion and a Dental Clinic. The combined project cost was reported at approximately $515 million. The Samson Pavilion, with roughly 477,000 square feet, was designed by Foster + Partners in London under the direction of architect Norman Foster. The building received LEED Gold certification. Its scale and design made it both an educational facility and a visible architectural project within Cleveland’s Health-Tech Corridor, near University Circle and Fairfax. The campus opened in 2019. It hosts educational activity associated with the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. The Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences has also been listed among the CWRU schools using the campus for classes. The overall educational model emphasizes interprofessional learning, allowing medical, dental, nursing, physician assistant, and related students to share facilities and interact across professional boundaries. The facility acquired a temporary emergency role during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the possibility of a medical surge, the HEC was converted into Hope Hospital, a planned low-acuity hospital with 327 beds. The additional capacity was not required. The temporary hospital was dismantled in July 2020, enabling the campus to resume its intended educational use for the fall semester. Later in 2020, the Samson Pavilion served as the site of the first United States presidential debate of the year. The debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden took place on September 29 and was moderated by Chris Wallace. The University of Notre Dame had originally been selected as host but withdrew because of pandemic-related safety concerns. The event was an exceptional civic and broadcast use of the campus rather than a change in its core mission. Today, the Health Education Campus is best understood as a shared academic environment rather than a commercial product brand. Its continuing identity rests on the partnership between Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic, the co-location of health-professions programs, the architecture of the Samson Pavilion, and the goal of integrating education across clinical disciplines.

• 2020

  Temporary Hope Hospital installed and removed

  [1]Health Education Campusen.wikipedia.org

  The campus was converted into a planned 327-bed low-acuity COVID-19 facility and was dismantled in July after the surge capacity was not needed.

• 2020

  Presidential debate hosted at Samson Pavilion

  [1]Health Education Campusen.wikipedia.org

  The Samson Pavilion hosted the first 2020 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on September 29.

• 2019

  Campus opens

  [1]Health Education Campusen.wikipedia.org

  The Health Education Campus opened with the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion and a Dental Clinic.

• 2016

  Cleveland medical-center affiliation changes

  [1]Health Education Campusen.wikipedia.org

  University Hospitals renamed its Case Medical Center as University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and renegotiated its affiliation agreement with Case Western Reserve University; the HEC plan was identified as an important contributing factor.

• 2013

  Relocation plan announced

  [1]Health Education Campusen.wikipedia.org

  Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic announced plans that would move major health-professions educational activities into a shared campus environment.

A collaborative academic health campus designed to bring multiple health-profession programs into a shared, interprofessional learning environment associated with Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic.

• Academic program platform · 2019

  Interprofessional health-professions education

  The HEC’s central offering is a shared educational environment for students in multiple health disciplines. Its design supports interaction among medical, dental, nursing, physician assistant, and related learners, reflecting the partners’ objective of making interprofessional education a defining feature of the campus.

• Health-professions education · 2019

  Medical education

  The campus hosts classes associated with the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. These programs form part of the HEC’s broader academic ecosystem, in which medical students learn alongside students from other clinical and health-related disciplines.

• Health-professions education · 2019

  Dental education

  Dental education is supported through the Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine and the campus Dental Clinic. The Dental Clinic is one of the two principal components of the physical HEC development, alongside the Samson Pavilion.

• Health-professions education · 2019

  Nursing and related health education

  The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and other identified CWRU programs use the campus for educational activities. The inclusion of nursing and social-sciences education broadens the HEC beyond a medical-school facility and supports its cross-disciplinary mission.

• 2020

  Convert the campus into Hope HospitalOther

  Background

  The COVID-19 pandemic created concern that Cleveland might require additional hospital capacity for a medical surge.

  Action taken

  The HEC was temporarily configured as Hope Hospital, a planned low-acuity facility with 327 beds.

  Aftermath

  The surge capacity was not needed, and the temporary hospital was deconstructed in July 2020 so fall instruction could resume.

  Source

• 2020

  Host the first 2020 presidential debateOther

  Background

  The University of Notre Dame withdrew as debate host because of safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Action taken

  The Samson Pavilion was selected to host the September 29 debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

  Aftermath

  The campus temporarily served as a nationally televised civic venue while retaining its primary academic role.

  Source

• 2013

  Create a shared interprofessional health campusStrategy

  Background

  Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic sought to bring health-professions education into a common setting instead of continuing to distribute much of the activity across the CWRU campus and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.

  Action taken

  The partners announced the relocation plan that led to development of the Health Education Campus.

  Aftermath

  The plan contributed to subsequent changes in University Hospitals’ naming and affiliation arrangements with Case Western Reserve University and culminated in the campus opening in 2019.

  Source

1. 1Health Education Campusen.wikipedia.org