Wishard will continue to operate while Eskenazi Health undergoes final preparation to begin caring for patients on Saturday, Dec. 7, at which time all services will transition to the new Eskenazi Health campus. 

After four years and 13 days; thousands of jobs created and 421 Indiana contractors, vendors and suppliers engaged; and more than $80 million in philanthropic funds raised, the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital and Eskenazi Health campus is ready to open. A large crowd, including elected officials and community leaders, is expected to join Eskenazi Health on Saturday to hold a ribbon-cutting for the project. The new campus replaces the Wishard Memorial Hospital campus just blocks away in the heart of downtown. Following the ribbon cutting, the new Eskenazi Health campus will undergo final preparations before opening to care for patients on Dec. 7. The project to build the new campus will conclude at that time, with Eskenazi Health completed on time and on budget. Eskenazi Health completes construction ahead of goals for minority-, women- and veteran-owned business participation, with 17 percent of construction contracts going to minority-owned businesses; 8 percent going to women-owned businesses; and 6 percent going to veteran-owned businesses. Additionally, 90 percent of major contracts went to Indiana firms, including nearly 400 companies from the Indianapolis/Marion County metro area. The new Eskenazi Health campus is also on pace to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the entire campus. This distinction would make it the first such health campus in the United States registered publicly in the national LEED® database. 

When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013 at 10 a.m.

Where: Eskenazi Health Campus, 720 Eskenazi Ave. 

Who:

1. Hon. André Carson, U.S. Representative
2. Hon. Susan Brooks, U.S. Representative
3. Hon. Gregory Ballard, mayor, City of Indianapolis
4. Hon. Maggie Lewis, City-County Council President
5. Hon. Evan Bayh, Former U.S. Senator
6. Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO, Eskenazi Health
7. Matthew Gutwein, president and CEO, Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County
8. Dr. Anantha Shekhar, associate dean of the IU School of Medicine
9. Dr. James Miner, chairman of HHC Board
10. Bruce Siegel, president and CEO, America’s Essential Hospitals (formerly NAPH)
11. Hon. Gregory Porter, State Representative
12. Rev. Dr. Angelique Walker-Smith, The Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis
13. Dr. Virginia Caine, director, Marion County Public Health Department
14. Ernest Vargo II, CFRE, president and CEO, Eskenazi Health Foundation
15. Mike Smith, Eskenazi Health Capital Campaign
16. Deborah Daniels and John Thompson, Capital Campaign co-chairs
17. Len Betley, Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation
18. Nancy Huber, Fifth Third Bank
19. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi, capital campaign donors
20. Rabbi Sandy Sasso

CONTACT: Michelle O’Keefe
Phone: 317.630.6863
Pager: 317.310.5972  
Email: michelle.okeefe@wishard.edu