The Wexner Medical Center’s new 1.9 million square foot hospital tower will open in 2026. Credit: Courtesy of the Wexner Medical Center
In one of the largest gifts donated in Ohio State Wexner Medical Center history, the Robert F. Wolfe and Edgar T. Wolfe Foundation made a $50 million commitment to the center’s new hospital tower, which is scheduled to open in 2026, in honor of John F. Wolfe.
Construction on the new inpatient hospital began in 2018 with an estimated project cost of $1.9 billion and the promise of housing up to 820 private rooms, according to the Building the Future website. According to the Wexner Medical Center’s press conference Monday, the hospital tower is 75% completed and will be organized into 26 stories over 1.9 million square feet, making it the single largest facilities project in Ohio State’s history.
The hospital will also include 51 neonatal intensive care beds and innovative surgical, procedure and imaging space to better care for patients, according to Wexner Medical Center. The inpatient tower will have two areas named after the Wolfe Foundation — the John F. Wolfe Lobby and the Wolfe Foundation Crossroads — in honor of this significant charitable donation.
According to an Ohio State news release, university President Ted Carter Jr. said “this is a special day for our university, our region and our state.”
“John F. Wolfe’s family and the Wolfe Foundation are building on his lifelong commitment to creating a bright future for the Columbus community,” Carter said.
John Wolfe was the publisher of The Columbus Dispatch and the chair of The Dispatch Printing Company until it was sold to Gatehouse in 2015. He served on many boards at Ohio State and its health system for more than 20 years, according to an Ohio State news release.
His widow, Ann, chaired the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Foundation Board and was a member of the University Hospitals Board.
Even before the completion of the tower, the Wolfe family’s name can be seen throughout Columbus, including at the Center of Science and Industry, Wolfe Park, the Franklin Park Conservatory and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, according to the release.
“Few people know, or will ever know, even half of the good works John F. Wolfe and Ann Wolfe put their shoulders behind to benefit Columbus and central Ohio,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in the release. “They preferred to be a quiet force for good with lasting impact.”
DeWine said John Wolfe would be glad to know that his legacy is having a good impact on health care facilities in the future “at the university he cherished and the city he helped shape.”
According to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, central Ohio is expected to add nearly one million people in the next 20 to 25 years, meaning a major increase in the usage of Ohio State’s hospitals.
“This new hospital will add much-needed capacity for patient care,” Marti Leitch, the director of media relations at the medical center, said. “Our health system is nearly full every day.”
In the event of a public health outbreak, there is flexibility to expand the number of isolation rooms, Leitch said
“Patients and families are at the center of everything we do at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center,” John J. Warner, CEO of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and Ohio State’s executive vice president, said. “And our new inpatient tower will further ensure that we are able to provide the very best care for everyone, every time.”
