On March 31st, Cuyahoga County will turn over the Global Health Innovation Center -- formerly known as the Medical Mart -- to its individual tenants so they can begin to build out each of their spaces. 

It will be a landmark moment for the project, says Dave Johnson, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the GHIC. He expects the project to be majority leased when the ribbon is cut in June.

"The project will open ahead of schedule and under budget," says Johnson, who also cites the building's LEED Silver (Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design) status, a sought-after sustainable building rating.

GHIC tenants include a partnership between the Cleveland Clinic and GE Healthcare, a partnership between University Hospitals and Phillips Healthcare, Johnson Controls, and the Health Information Management Society.

The GHIC will include a display of the "home of the future," which will be built out by vendors and will feature medical devices that allow people to stay in their homes. UH and Phillips will showcase scanning equipment, while Johnson Controls will display the latest in hospital operating systems. Visitors will be able to view the behind-the-wall systems that would otherwise be invisible.

The Health Information Management Society will rotate exhibits based on what's hot in healthcare management. "It will be like a pretend hospital," says Johnson. "This is the organization around healthcare IT. The display will show equipment and how it interfaces. This is an entity bumped from the cancelled Nashville Med Mart project. It will become a magnet for companies to test IT equipment."

Officials are planning a public grand opening in June with a weekend of festivities.

Source: Dave Johnson
Writer: Lee Chilcote