UW Health: Hosts ribbon cutting at Eastpark Medical Center

Contact: Sara Benzel
(608) 852-2605
sbenzel@uwhealth.org

MADISON, Wis. – Today, UW Health hosted a ceremony to celebrate the opening of Eastpark Medical Center.

This more than 475,000-square-foot, seven-story facility, the largest medical facility to be completed in the United States in 2024, will be home to more than 600 staff upon opening, according to Dr. Peter Newcomer, chief operating officer, UW Health.

“We’ve designed this facility to offer convenient and coordinated care,” he said. “We’re thrilled to begin seeing patients at this incredible, state-of-the-art center.”

With demand for high-quality health care at an all-time high, Eastpark is opening at an important time, according to Dr. Alan Kaplan, chief executive officer, UW Health.

“Eastpark will transform patient care with world-class clinicians, life-saving therapies, cutting-edge technologies and world-changing research all under one roof,” he said. “The convenient location and enhanced care coordination are making the highest quality patient care accessible to patients throughout Wisconsin and beyond.”
Eastpark will offer more than 40 types of specialty care for adults, including cancer care provided through the UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center, Wisconsin’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, according to Dr. Lee Wilke, senior medical director of clinical cancer services, UW Health, and professor of surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

“Eastpark enables us to bring our specialists together in a new state-of-the-art building while expanding supportive services such as behavioral health, integrative oncology consultations and financial counseling,” she said. “It’s going to offer patients wrap-around care that is vital for complex conditions like cancer.”

Eastpark will offer medical, radiation and surgical oncology, and it will also be home to proton therapy, a highly precise radiation therapy for cancer. Eastpark will be one of the first facilities in the world to offer upright proton therapy. Patients can expect to have access to this therapy option in early 2026.

Eastpark also features a 73-chair infusion center, where patients, many receiving therapies for cancer, will have the option to receive therapy in a communal, semi-private or private setting.

Some of those infusion therapies will be provided through clinical trials supported by the clinical research unit conveniently located across the hall from the infusion center, according to Betsy Nugent, senior director and chief clinical research officer, UW Health.

“We’re bringing research opportunities to patients at Eastpark,” she said. “We want to make the process as easy and comfortable as possible for any patient who chooses to participate in clinical trials.”

Eastpark will also house the integrated specialty care for women program, Wisconsin’s first coordinated program to offer a tailored approach to treat common and complex conditions affecting women, including pelvic floor disorders, incontinence, gynecologic cancer and sexual health concerns, according to Dr. Ellen Hartenbach, gynecologic oncologist, UW Health, and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UW School of Medicine and Public Health.’

“We have an incredible team of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physical therapists and sex therapists in this program,” she said. “At Eastpark, this team is creating a space to provide compassionate care for patients who need it.”

Twenty specialties and services will begin to see patients at Eastpark on Oct. 28. The initial phase of appointments includes allergy, dermatology, pharmacy services and radiology. On Nov. 11, the clinical research unit, infusion therapy, several types of cancer care and several other specialties will begin. Finally, more than a dozen specialties will begin to welcome patients on Nov. 18 including physical and occupational therapy, neurology, pain management and integrated specialty care for women. Patients with providers and clinics moving to Eastpark will be notified when they schedule future appointments.

Innovation isn’t confined to clinical care or clinical trials at Eastpark. The center features
the largest solar canopy in Wisconsin, with 2,064 solar panels sitting atop the parking structure that will generate clean energy – 1,260 megawatt-hours of electricity annually – for the medical center.

Eastpark will feature more than 1,100 pieces of original art from more than 250 artists. More than 70% of the artists are from Wisconsin, including several Indigenous artists. Other onsite amenities include a pharmacy with drive-up services, onsite health technology support, gardens and walking paths, and a cafe featuring recipes created in partnership with patients who have been treated for cancer.