Vanderbilt University Medical Center laboratory employees, their families and many others involved in the ongoing transformation of the Medical Center’s laboratories had a first peek at the new 110,000-square-foot core laboratory space during an open house on Sept. 16.
The massive facility, located in Metro Center, is just five miles from VUMC’s main Nashville campus. Set to open in March 2024, the space will house most of VUMC’s clinical and anatomic pathology operations, as well as provide unified space for laboratory administration and residents.
As part of the laboratory transformation, the Medical Center’s current main lab on the fourth floor of The Vanderbilt Clinic (TVC) will also be renovated and will serve as a near-patient lab to meet the rapid testing needs of inpatient, emergency and perioperative patient care.
During the open house, vendors answered questions about equipment as small groups toured the building. There were also giveaways and a scavenger hunt.
Visitors explored every corner of the new 110,000-square-foot laboratory space. Work benches that can be easily reconfigured to meet changing demands, innovative equipment that is both modernized and more fully automated, a gallery of art that is actually microbiology images from VUMC scientists, an internal gathering space that has been fortified to also serve as a storm shelter and many other features were showcased.
