Inside Duke Medicine

Honoring our past, investing in our future

Construction work on a portion of the original Duke University Hospital, August 1928. Photo courtesy of Duke University Archives

The new Cancer Center facility is far more than a significant investment in a building that will provide the best possible care to patients and their families while enhancing the work environment for Duke Cancer Institute faculty and staff.

Those clearly are important elements of the mission, vision and values of Duke Medicine, and of a new building in which everyone, including those not involved in cancer care, justifiably can take pride. But the Cancer Center facility also represents Duke Medicine’s historical commitment as an organization to look toward the future and embrace the opportunities and challenges.

James B. Duke did exactly that in 1925, when he bequeathed $4 million (nearly $50 million today) to create Duke University Hospital, which opened five years later, as well as medical and nursing schools. Down through the years, Duke Medicine has continued to honor James B. Duke’s bold spirit, investing in new buildings, programs and enterprises that have forged its reputation as a world-class medical organization.

That past serves as a guide as Duke Medicine again invests in itself, its people, its outstanding clinical and research programs – in its future – with the construction of the Cancer Center facility and adjoining Duke Medicine Pavilion.

“To stand still is to fall behind,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for health affairs and CEO of Duke University Health System. “As the world changes, as the needs of our state and region change, we must maintain our proactive vision not just to preserve, but to strengthen, the Duke Medicine enterprise and our ability to provide the finest available care. The new Cancer Center facility embodies that commitment.”

The health care landscape continues to evolve in ways James B. Duke could never have envisioned. Uncertainties abound and competition is keen. But his vision 86 years ago laid the cornerstone for today’s Duke Medicine, which has grown into an acknowledged leader in cancer care – one of our differentiating clinical areas of expertise with a significant impact on our financial performance – and in other clinical and research fields.

Duke Medicine made the decision to build the Cancer Center facility from a position of market and financial strength as an investment in our future. The project, along with the Duke Medicine Pavilion, will strategically position Duke Medicine for continued success and stability in the future, and ensure its ability to meet the existing and growing need in the greater Triangle, state and beyond for the kind of cutting-edge, compassionate care that sets Duke apart.

“It’s a big milestone and commitment that signals growth and the maturing of cancer care at Duke,” said Joseph Moore, M.D., a medical oncologist with the Duke Cancer Institute.

Read other articles from the special issue of Inside Duke Medicine on the Cancer Center facility.