Second Opinion

The University of Louisville’s new tagline — It’s happening here — is evident at the Health Sciences Center. Visitors to our campus see new buildings, cranes, construction fences and signs telling them what’s being built here.

As this issue of Medicine magazine goes to press, many of our faculty are moving into the UofL Health Care Outpatient Center, located on the corner of Preston and Chestnut streets in the heart of the Health Sciences Center.

Once all of the new tenants have moved in and the building is up and running, this beautiful, state-of-the-art facility promises one-stop medical — and even dental — care for patients. Instead of being sent to one building for lab work, another for imaging and still others for a specialist referral, patients can have everything done in one place.

We’re proud of the quality of our faculty, and this new space reflects the pride, commitment, expertise and caring that our doctors and dentists bring to the care of their patients every day.

You’ll also read in this issue of Medicine magazine about the $29 million renovation at UofL’s James Graham Brown Cancer Center. While the new space is attractive, calm and peaceful — reflecting the input of patients treated there — this renovation isn’t just another pretty face. About half of that investment was used to install state-of-the-art radiation oncology equipment, meaning that people needing treatment don’t have to leave Kentucky to get the very best care available anywhere.

In addition, the renovated Mint Jubilee Resource Center provides a place for patients to learn more about their illness, understand resources available for them at the cancer center and in the community, get support and talk to people who have been in similar situations.

We’re proud that the Brown Cancer Center is bringing the best to cancer patients in Kentucky and beyond — not just new drugs, great technology and the finest treatments available anywhere, but the caring and empathy that our doctors and staff bring to every interaction with patients.

It’s happening here — but it’s also happening across the commonwealth! At UofL, we know that high-tech health care needs high-touch patient interaction to ensure the best outcome possible.

That principle is embodied by our InTouch Robot initiative, which brings the top faculty expertise of our academic medical center to partner hospitals across the state. The two-way communication between doctors and patients (and their families) is amazing to watch. Within a few minutes, people forget they’re talking to a robot and connect with the physician behind the computer screen, who in turn is able to hear a premature baby’s breathing or conduct a neurological exam without the secondhand interpretation that invariably happens when consulting with a colleague over the phone.

This initiative uses technology to create a win for patients, who can see a UofL physician — part of a unique group of doctors, committed to excellence and to creating leading-edge medical knowledge — without driving to Louisville.

They can benefit from our specialists’ dedication and knowledge without an automatic transfer to a hospital far away from friends, family and support systems.

Working with colleagues at partner hospitals, our faculty physicians are able to help make smart decisions about patient care that keep people’s local doctor-patient relationships intact and help partner facilities feel confident that they’re doing the best for people in their home communities.

It may happen here, but it’s also happening in Owensboro, Pikeville, Murray and other regional medical centers across Kentucky.

As we work to bring the human touch to the increasingly high-tech practice of health care, we are mindful of what we teach the next generation here at the University of Louisville.

We have always focused on creating the best doctors, dentists, nurses and other professionals by practicing what we preach and by being aware that our conduct, empathy and professionalism is a model for those we teach.

Under the able leadership of Dean Edward Halperin, M.D., M.A., we’re formalizing the integration of humanism into the teaching of medicine by adding medical humanities and bioethics to the medical school curriculum. We also are offering a master of arts in bioethics and medical humanities, open to medical students and working health-care professionals.

We owe the best to our patients, our students and our alumni.

By keeping our focus on both the leading edge of technology and the fundamentals of caring, empathetic health care, we’re building an academic medical center that creates the knowledge to heal, brings that expertise to patients and teaches it to the next generation.

We’re proud to contribute to the health of Kentucky and to making our state an excellent place to live and work.

Larry N. Cook, M.D., is executive vice president for health affairs at UofL and a professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine.