The University of Texas System Board of Regents has approved establishment of the UT Southwestern Monty and Tex Moncrief Medical Center at Fort Worth, made possible by an extraordinary $25 million commitment from W.A. "Tex" Moncrief Jr. The Center is UT Southwestern's first named campus outside of Dallas.
The new campus in the heart of Fort Worth's burgeoning medical district will build on UT Southwestern Medical Center's recent expansions at the Moncrief Cancer Institute. It also strengthens the Medical Center's capacity to serve residents of Fort Worth and surrounding areas, improving access to UT Southwestern's medical care, research, and educational opportunities.
"The UT Southwestern Monty and Tex Moncrief Medical Center recognizes the long-standing support and vision of the Moncrief family, which has enabled our growing clinical presence in Fort Worth," said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. "In the years ahead, their remarkable generosity will support the development of a multidisciplinary outpatient facility programmed specifically to meet the medical needs of the area. We are delighted and privileged to be a part of the growing Fort Worth community."
The first building on the 6.3-acre site, located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Main Street, is expected to be completed in September 2016 and will offer the expertise of UT Southwestern faculty specialty physicians at a multidisciplinary outpatient facility.
"My Dad would be pleased that the Moncrief Radiation Center that he created in Fort Worth years ago has now evolved into UT Southwestern's plan for a major clinic in Fort Worth to help take care of the medical needs of the citizens of Fort Worth and North Texas," said W.A. "Tex" Moncrief Jr., President of the William A. and Elizabeth B. Moncrief Foundation, which contributes to educational, health, civic, and cultural organizations. "UT Southwestern is known worldwide as a premier academic medical center that is fundamentally changing medicine through excellent clinical care, groundbreaking research, and the outstanding education it provides the next generation of physicians and caregivers."
Over the years, the Moncrief family has provided nearly $14 million from the William A. and Elizabeth B. Moncrief Foundation and from Tex Moncrief in direct support of UT Southwestern programs at its Dallas campus, as well as $75 million in funds given to the Moncrief Cancer Foundation in support of the UT Southwestern Moncrief Cancer Institute in Fort Worth.
In Dallas, the W.A. Monty & Tex Moncrief Radiation Oncology Building, adjacent to the Seay Biomedical Building at UT Southwestern, offers state-of-the-art radiation therapy and research equipment, and houses the Department of Radiation Oncology. The W. A. (Monty) Moncrief Distinguished Chair in Cholesterol and Arteriosclerosis Research is held by Nobel Laureate Dr. Michael Brown, who is also currently the Paul J. Thomas Professor of Molecular Genetics and Director of the Jonsson Center for Molecular Genetics at UT Southwestern.
"With this magnificent $25 million gift from Mr. Moncrief, UT Southwestern will be able to expand its presence in the Fort Worth area, providing advanced specialty care, access to clinical trials, and expertise that only an academic medical center can provide. This continues an era of growth for UT Southwestern," said Dr. Podolsky, who holds the Philip O'Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price acknowledged the importance of the new Center. "One of my top priorities as Mayor has always been the health and well-being of our citizens. I'm delighted that UT Southwestern is expanding in Fort Worth, bringing even greater depth and dimension to the medical services available here," she said. "The Moncrief family is much more than a benefactor to this city. They have truly changed the landscape."
Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley noted the expansion will benefit residents throughout Tarrant County and beyond. "UT Southwestern is a valuable partner in helping to ensure that residents from across the county and surrounding regions have access to the capabilities of this extraordinary academic medical center. Because of UT Southwestern's commitment, our residents benefit from top-tier care and the most advanced medical innovations."
New Campus to Provide Diverse Collection of Services
The campus will encompass the newly acquired property and the facility to be built there and the Moncrief Cancer Institute, located on a nearby 3.4-acre site at 400 W. Magnolia Ave. The latter Moncrief Cancer Institute supports North Texas cancer survivors, especially medically underserved adults, by focusing on prevention, research, and survivorship programs. The facility offers services that include genetic counseling, mammography screening, nutritional counseling, and healthy cooking classes. A telemedicine unit also allows the staff to provide testing and risk assessment to patients in surrounding and outlying counties.
Dee J. Kelly, Sr., founding partner of Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP, who serves on the board of directors of the Moncrief Cancer Foundation, noted, "This fulfills a lifelong effort by Tex to honor his father by enabling UT Southwestern Medical Center to construct and operate a clinic in Fort Worth that will provide medical services that are innovative and unique, and will directly benefit the citizens of our community. This new outpatient facility builds upon and works closely with UT Southwestern's Moncrief Cancer Institute to offer additional and complementary clinical services."
In May, UT Southwestern opened facilities within the Moncrief Cancer Institute to provide easy access to the clinical expertise and services of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center for residents of Tarrant and 10 surrounding counties. This facility includes exam space, state-of-the-art imaging capabilities, on-site lab and pharmacy services, and 14 all-private infusion rooms for chemotherapy – which was a first for Fort Worth.
Secure telemedicine directly links to the Simmons Cancer Center in Dallas, allowing convenient access to consultations and secured access to electronic medical records, as well as extending the reach of oncologists, surgeons, and bone marrow transplant specialists at UT Southwestern's William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and radiation oncologists at the W.A. Monty & Tex Moncrief Radiation Oncology Building.
In February 2015, the Moncrief Cancer Institute and Simmons Cancer Center debuted the Mobile Cancer Survivor Clinic – a custom-designed, $1.1 million, fully equipped 18-wheeler that can deliver follow-up and screening services to cancer survivors in their communities. The traveling clinic serves Tarrant, Parker, Wise, Hood, Erath, Somervell, Johnson, Ellis, and Navarro counties – a region where 55 percent of the population is considered medically underserved and where one-third of cancer survivors are considered at risk of failing to adhere to essential follow-up care due to the lack of facilities, lack of transportation, and other factors. The bilingual Mobile Cancer Survivor Clinic offers 3-D mammography, colon cancer screenings, private exam rooms, exercise facilities for one-on-one training, and high-speed telemedicine links to cancer experts and counseling services at UT Southwestern.
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