BIH’s integration into Charité becomes tangible
The Board of Directors of the BIH and Charité thanked the federal and state governments for generously funding the construction project. The former surgery and intensive care wing of Charité was completely renovated and transformed into a modern and spacious research, innovation and patient center. The federal government provided the greater part, or 60 percent, of funding for the approximately €100 million renovation, while the State of Berlin contributed 40 percent of the building costs.
Prof. Heyo K. Kroemer, Chief Executive Officer of Charité, stressed: “Charité, as the university medical center of the State of Berlin, greatly appreciates Berlin’s support for Charité in this landmark construction project. Integrating the BIH into Charité was a significant step forward, and today’s opening of the Rahel Hirsch Center is a key cornerstone in the merging process. The building exemplifies the synergies between these two institutions, not only because of its physical proximity but also because of its special cutting-edge concept.”
“With the Rahel Hirsch Center we are improving our already very successful and groundbreaking collaboration across joint project lines. In this building, scientists, physicians and patients will interact with one another on a daily basis,” said Prof. Joachim Spranger, Dean of Charité. “Looking to the future, the continuous sharing of bench and bedside experiences will foster the development of new ideas, thus leading to even better healthcare options. In addition, the Berlin Simulation and Training Center (BeST) will enable us to simulate treatment alternatives as realistically as possible using state-of-the-art technologies and techniques. This makes it possible for us to simultaneously train the doctors of tomorrow here.”
Astrid Lurati, Charité’s Chief Financial and Infrastructure Officer, praised in particular the constructive collaboration on this ambitious building project: “By renovating a dilapidated existing building into a sustainable research and healthcare building, Charité has once again put its construction expertise on display. Thanks to the close collaboration between all stakeholders, this important building project, with a total budget of around €100 million, has now been completed only slightly behind schedule, despite considerable pandemic-related obstacles in terms of the labor and supply chain situation. I would like to express my profound thanks to everyone involved for this outstanding achievement.”
BIH receives 90 percent of its core funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent from the State of Berlin. Prof. Christopher Baum, Chair of the BIH Board of Directors and Charité’s Chief Translational Research Officer, expressed his deep gratitude to both funding authorities: “We are very pleased that the Rahel Hirsch Center now gives the BIH a true center for medical innovation on Campus Charité Mitte. Our focus here is on advancing data science and genomic medicine. Daily interactions with physicians from Charité’s clinical and outpatient departments as well as with patients give our scientists valuable insights for their work. Translational research is put into practice here, and exchange between clinicians and researchers is possible at any time. In this way, the Rahel Hirsch Center will contribute to turning research into health.”
Combining biomedical research and clinical medicine in one building
