VCU Health’s Adult Outpatient Pavilion is open!

Located just off I-95, the new 17-story building is conveniently located at the corner of North 10th and East Leigh streets, on the MCV campus in downtown Richmond. 

Our new 615,000-square foot facility consolidates under one roof 26 specialties previously housed across the MCV campus. Until now, these specialties — such as urology, orthopedics and OB/GYN — were located at VCU Health’s Ambulatory Care Center, North Hospital and Nelson Clinic.

VCU Massey Cancer Center occupies six floors of the new pavilion, offering cancer patients comfort and convenience — as well as new technology. This includes a new MRI-guided linear accelerator (MRI-LINAC), the only one between Pennsylvania and Florida.

MRI-LINAC (Photo: VCU Massey Cancer Center)

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) together with radiation therapy, the machine aims radiation at cancer tumors with pinpoint accuracy, sparing nearby healthy tissue. The MRI-LINAC enables VCU Massey Cancer Center providers to fine-tune a patient’s treatment plan, personalizing and adapting each treatment in ways they could not before.

Equipment such as this, as well as infusion therapy, a new wig shop and a new family lounge for cancer patients and their families, is all available within a short distance.

In addition to clinical care, the new Adult Outpatient Pavilion offers wellness activities such as yoga and support groups. Two pharmacies, a laboratory and café are on-site, as well as designated spaces for quiet time between appointments.

The AOP is just steps away from a GRTC bus stop and has 1,000 on-site parking spaces for drivers.

Patient-centered focus from the beginning

To get to this moment, leadership listened to you, our patients, about what you wanted — making sure your hopes and dreams were front and center every step of the way. We also listened to our clinicians and staff and engaged with some of the top health systems across the country. We used this opportunity to completely reimagine what health care should look and feel like.

“At VCU Health, we keep our patients at the center of everything we do,” said Nathan Cunningham, M.P.H., director of patient experience at VCU Health. “An innovative facet of this building was that we included patients in every step — from the architectural design throughout the build, to the implementation and opening of the building,”

Every square foot of the AOP brings to life VCU Health’s commitment to “welcome” — an experience of trust and caring in our delivery of medicine. This includes making our care as accessible as it can be — to everyone.

We welcome you at the door

We will greet you at the door to provide a personal check-in experience and answer any questions you may have. If you prefer, you may instead use our self-check-in kiosks. Afterwards, you’ll be prompted by staff or signage to the dedicated waiting areas near the care and exam rooms.

To put you at ease, we’ve brought the therapeutic beauty of the outdoors inside. In waiting rooms filled with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows, you can take in views of Richmond while you wait for your care. Original artwork and nature photography span entire walls in our atriums. Even ceiling panels in imaging and diagnostic exam rooms feature starry skies, sunlit cherry blossom trees or fluffy white clouds.

“The building literally and figuratively provides a brighter outlook for patients,” said Rudene Mercer Haynes, a VCU Massey Cancer Center Advisory Board member and cancer survivor.

Anxiety about finding your way to your doctor’s office, searching for parking or walking beyond your capabilities for prescriptions or lab work is a thing of the past. Our core strategy involved making the pavilion easy to find and easy to navigate. Our top-tier treatment space facilitates movement.

“The Adult Outpatient Pavilion is a pivotal chapter in our mission to make world class health care accessible for all,” said Michael Rao, Ph.D, president of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and VCU Health System. “It is our most ambitious and visionary building project yet. Most importantly, it’s a promise to be the answer to people who have run out of answers, and a space with superior patient experience that fosters learning, collaboration and healing.”

“It’s a tangible demonstration of the way health care should be,” said Tom Yackel, M.D., president of MCV Physicians.

The pavilion will serve about 200,000 patients annually, with the ability to expand services over time for even more people.

See the growth of the Adult Outpatient Pavilion — from ground breaking to ribbon cutting — in this photo essay.

We hope this beautiful new building — with views in every direction  — fosters a healing and therapeutic environment from the moment you arrive.  Welcome to your new outpatient experience at VCU Health.