CLEVELAND, Ohio — Three years after breaking ground and eight years after plans to transform MetroHealth’s main campus were announced, Spectrum News got a tour inside the new MetroHealth Glick Center that is just about ready to welcome patients.

MetroHealth doesn’t want this new hospital to feel like a hospital.

What You Need To Know

• On Oct. 15, 2022 the first patients will receive care at the brand new MetroHealth Glick Center in Cleveland


• The main campus transformation has been in the works since 2014 and construction of the nearly $1 billion project is being funded by in-hospital revenue bonds


• The campus spans 52 acres and more than half will become green space after old buildings are torn down

“Hopefully the art and the color and the warmth and the energy and the themes of hope and healing and community contribute to that," said Linda Jackson, the director of the Center for Arts in Health at MetroHealth.

Officials from the public hospital system that’s served Cuyahoga County since 1837 believe art is an integral part of healing and well-being.

“We know that there are physiological benefits, psychological benefits, social benefits," said Jackson. "There’s evidence of how the arts can actually impact staff retention, how it can even lower hospital stays.”

Jackson said the Glick Center is home to 900 pieces of art and the majority of the collection comes from local artists, such as Derek Brennan. 

During the tour, Brennan was painting a jungle themed mural in the treehouse area, which is off the pediatric playroom.

“Where they can create that emotional safety. Where they can come and play. Anything that happens in this space will be non-clinical," said Jackson.

Unlike that room, all 316 patient rooms across 11 floors are considered process neutral. Dr. Jennifer Bailit said that means capacity can expand as needed and the furniture is mobile.

“Any room can be an ICU room. Any room can be a regular floor room. And that doesn’t mean that for any given patient that would happen, but what it means is we can expand and adapt to our community’s needs easily and that we have all the tools we need to respond to the next pandemic if needed," said Dr. Bailit. 

Despite COVID-19, the Glick Center project is right on schedule.

MetroHealth officials said that’s in part due to the construction being deemed essential work. The other big factor is that most of the building materials had locked in pricing because they were bought prior to the pandemic.

The Glick Center is set to officially open to patients on Oct. 15, 2022.

“If you look at our old buildings, they were designed in a different time, different era, where there were different expectations about hospitals. We’re very excited to bring that to Metro where the family can be together in a time of crisis," said Dr. Bailit. 

Executive Director of Community Transformation and Real Estate Holdings at MetroHealth Greg Zucca recognizes a healthcare crisis may happen outside of the hospital. He said supporting the surrounding Clark-Fulton neighborhood through community partnerships is just as important as upgrading the facilities. 

Zucca said he believes it starts with affordable housing.

“Partnering with the city of Cleveland, with CMHA, with the NRP group, we developed a 72-unit housing project called Via Sana.”

MetroHealth said no taxpayer money is being used to fund the Glick Center project. The $946 million price tag is covered by in-hospital revenue bonds.

The campus spans 52 acres and more than half will become green space after old buildings are torn down.

“We’re not expanding out into the neighborhood and taking down houses to build new medical offices, but we’re actually in some ways giving back some of our campus property," said Zucca.

A new six-floor outpatient-care building and parking garage is set to finish construction by 2024. 

“It’s about 300,000 square feet of space. It will have our cancer care," said Zucca.

The entire overhaul of main campus is expected to be complete in the spring of 2025.