In just one more week work can begin on the interior so construction is going to plan. Aesculap board member Dr. Joachim Schulz praised the development of the project in his speech: “Medical education and training serves to ensure the quality of doctors’ professional work and is an essential requirement for a high performance healthcare system. The topping out ceremony is an important milestone on the way to a third branch in the most densely populated state in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia. Doctors, nursing and clinic staff from the bordering German states and from the Benelux countries will also come here to be made fit for the future by means of interdisciplinary knowledge exchange.”

Celebrating the topping out ceremony together: Aesculap Board Member Dr. Joachim Schulz und Managing Director of the Aesculap Akademie Felicitas Janßen with plasterer Benno Berkemeyer and architect Günter Hermann.

Academy’s third site

In addition to its headquarters in Tuttlingen and a branch in Berlin in the Langenbeck-Virchow building, another site is now being constructed for the Aesculap AG medical education and training institution in the BioMedical Science Park Bochum. Together with the Healthcare Campus North Rhine-Westphalia, the Ruhr University and the technology centres nearby, the BioMedical Science Park Bochum forms a unique concentration of competences in the fields of healthcare and medicine. Aesculap Chairman Prof. Dr. Hanns-Peter Knaebel is also convinced of the unique environment here. “The cooperation with the academic institutions in the region is one of Bochum’s great strengths as far as the Aesculap Academy is concerned. The proximity to healthcare service providers and integration in the university landscapes puts this location at the cutting edge of knowledge transfer, research and teaching,” Knaebel explains. And the seminar and course programme for the second half of 2013 has already been fixed.

In close cooperation with the Anatomical Institute at the Ruhr University Bochum, there will be courses in orthopaedic skills and workshops and seminars in surgery, anaesthetics and nursing care. Integration in the state of NRW’s Healthcare Campus project will also positively underline the development of more types of courses.

The first of two construction phases

On 22 May 2012 the foundation stone was laid for the Bochum branch heralding the start of the first construction phase. In the first construction phase, approximately 2000 m² of workshop and seminar rooms, an exhibition and advice centre as well as office and equipment areas are being created on two floors. An interactive exhibition about the topic of medical knowledge transfer rounds the project off. The first construction phase involves investments amounting to around 10 million Euros.

After successfully integrating the location in the overall landscape, the second construction phase of the Aesculap Academy Bochum will begin. The plot has already been bought and the plans have been drawn up. The second module links seamlessly to the first construction project and, in addition to more workshop and seminar rooms, will include a lecture theatre seating 130 people.

The Respiratory Syncytial-Virus (RSV) usually only causes mild symptoms such as a runny nose, coughing and bronchitis. But in the patient group mentioned above it can lead to severe respiratory disease or pneumonia and so far there has been no approved vaccine. RUB researchers with Dr. Thomas Grunwald are breaking new ground in their search for an effective vaccine.

Some proteins which are found on the surface of viral infection agents are particularly interesting for the researchers, as they can be attacked by the immune system. An infection can usually be avoided if these surface proteins are destroyed or bound by neutralizing antibodies.

Quick and cheap to manufacture, simple to store

So the researchers are concentrating on just such a surface protein, the RSV-F-Protein. In the laboratory they examined and optimised the appropriate gene sequence. After introducing this optimized DNA sequence into the cell culture with human cells there was an unusually high expression of the SV-F-protein – 5000 times more RSV-F was produced than with the original viral sequence. In animal trials the vaccine proved to be successful as well. Now the researchers are testing new ways of getting the gene information into the patient’s body. Compared to previous vaccines the DNA vaccine also has other advantages: DNA vaccines can be produced cheaply and quickly, they are safe – the DNA stays in one cell and does not spread throughout the body – and they can be stored easily too.

NRW-Science Minister Svenja Schulze, State Secretary Marlis Bredehorst (MGEPA), Lord Mayor Dr. Ottilie Scholz, Professor Dr. Anne Friedrichs (President of the hsg), Arndt Winterer (Head of the LZG NRW) and BLB-Branch Manager Helmut Heitkamp laying the foundation stone. Photo: hsg

Minister Svenja Schulze emphasised that: “In future we need academically educated healthcare personnel. Medical progress is going to happen wherever new innovative care concepts are developed for the benefit of the patients, which means where people are the centre of attention. The Healthcare University of Applied Sciences and its degree courses pay an important contribution towards facing the above-mentioned challenges. Today we are laying down the infrastructure we will need.”

The Healthcare University (hsg) is the first component of the Healthcare Campus (GC) NRW. “Laying this foundation stone and, in particular, when it is moved into in 2014 are two solid signs that the hsg is in the process of winding up its initial set up phase and is beginning to shift over to normal but exciting day-to-day university life,” hsg-president Prof. Dr. Anne Friedrichs explained and continued: “The new hsg building and the events building mean we can fill the Healthcare Campus with life.” The six storey new building for the hsg includes an institute building with offices, seminar and laboratory rooms for ergotherapy, midwifery, speech therapy, nursing and physiotherapy. The neighbouring building is a combined events building. This is home to three lecture theatres and the Audimax, a canteen, a library and a congress area. This means the University can provide space for 1,300 students.

Prof. Yoshiyuki Sankai

Successful German-Japanese high-tech cooperation

In the presence of the NRW Minister for Economic Affairs Garrelt Duin and Lord Mayor Dr. Ottilie Scholz, Europe’s first Centre for Neurorobotic Movement Training using HAL® systems was opened. “This is our Apollo mission”, said Theodor Bülhoff from the Statutory Accident Insurance Association for Raw Materials and the Chemical Industry (BG RCI).

The HAL® robot suit provides new rehabilitation opportunities particularly for paraplegic patients. HAL® stands for Hybrid Assistive Limb® and it is the first robot suit in the world which supports and strengthens the movements of limbs efficiently. It stands out from other systems above all because it taps into the nerve induced impulses of the wearer in order to set itself and therefore the person in motion. The system was developed in Japan by Prof. Dr. Yoshiyuki Sankai who came especially to Bochum for the opening of the centre. He has been working on this project for more than 20 years now. In Japan there are already 300 HAL® suits in use in 135 different institutions.

Prof. Schildhauer demonstrated the therapy model with one of his patients

Prof.Dr. Thomas Schildhauer, Medical Director of the Bergmannsheil University Clinic has already carried out the first individual applications to adapt the suit to European sizes. He is delighted with the results so far: “We observed that training with the suit leads to considerable increases in mobility for the paralyzed patients, there is intensified muscle development and a higher level of activity, too.” The new Centre for Neurorobotic Movement Training in Bochum – the first of its kind outside Japan – wants to offer a large number of patients with mobility problems the possibility to take part in this form of nerve controlled movement therapy and thus to provide new ways of regaining their independence. In addition to this it also serves to push ahead research into application opportunities for the suit as well as to develop more therapy approaches.

Thanks to the almost 60 years of relations with Japan, it is no coincidence that Bochum has been chosen in NRW for the new Centre for Neurorobotic Movement Training. Duin promised to continue accompanying the project intensively: “For NRW as a location for medicine, settling here is of great significance. The HAL® suit shows what technical possibilities are available for treating severe illnesses today.”

Lord Mayor Dr. Ottilie Scholz reminded us about when the European Headquarters for the company Cyberdyne were set up on the BioMedicalScience Centre Bochum about a year ago: “Back then we said that the future is starting for Bochum. Today we can see that the future is becoming reality in Bochum.” The Centre for Neurorobotic Movement Training is a good example for the large range of expertise in the field of medical rehabilitation in Bochum.

The current plans for the whole area have been visualized with a new computer animation. The video shows the future development of the sites to give an impression on how the area will look like in the next years.

To watch the video, click on the image below.

Together with the Healthcare University and the Ruhr-University which are both nearby, this emphasises the strong focus on healthcare training and education in Bochum. The IFK is also constructing a modern education facility in the new “Competence Centre for Healthcare Professions”: every year around 4,000 therapists will take part in state-of-the-art training programmes here. In addition to their contracts business and professional policy work, training and education are a key focus for the Federal Association. IFK-Managing Director Dr. Frank Dudda explains: “Above all, the Healthcare Campus offers the healthcare professions the chance to bundle their political interests to ensure they get heard even more on the healthcare stage.”

The Association of Medical Professions e.V., which currently has an office in Dortmund, sees the Healthcare Campus as an opportunity to make good use of synergy effects. The first chairperson of the management board, Hannelore König, also explained: “The Federal Annual General Meeting voted to move to the Healthcare Campus at the end of April because we see good chances for representing the interests of our members’ professions even more efficiently and to develop new professional prospects.”

It was the opportunities for networking which attracted the opta data group from Essen to the Healthcare Campus. According to Managing Director Mark Steinbach: “The Healthcare Campus will be a strategic hub for numerous institutions in the healthcare sector. For opta data as an interface between service providers and health insurance companies and as one of the market leaders it is important to be present at such a location: In this way and together with our partners on the spot, such as the IFK, we can drive innovations ahead on behalf of our customers. That is why we will mainly be using our new premises to support our networks.”

There were representatives from the worlds of science, business and science at the foundation stone laying ceremony today. Prof. Dr. Hanns-Peter Knaebel, Chairman of the Board of Aesculap AG, complimented the unique surroundings in his opening speech: “This initiative by the North-Rhine Westphalian government towards creating the Healthcare Campus NRW has impressed us greatly. The close cooperation with the Ruhr-University Bochum, the Healthcare University and our neighbours, such as the Federal Association of Self-Employed Physiotherapists (IFK e.V.), sees the creation of an impressive concentration of medical competence here. As a partner we want to strengthen and intensify cooperation with the academic institutions of the region. This cooperation is a significant feature and strength of the location of Bochum as far as the Aesculap Academy is concerned and, in addition to our headquarters in Tuttlingen and our centre in Berlin, this sees us setting up our third ideally located branch where doctors, nursing and clinic staff from North-Rhine Westphalia, the adjoining German states and the Benelux countries will be made fit for the future through interdisciplinary knowledge exchange”.

The Aesculap AG board, Dr. Joachim Schulz, Prof. Dr. Hanns-Peter Knaebel and Dr. Harald Stallforth (from the left) deposit a time capsule while laying the foundation stone.

Dr. Ottilie Scholz, Lord Mayor of the City of Bochum also emphasised how important this network is: “Training and continuing education in the medical sector are becoming more and more important in Bochum. The Aesculap Academy’s specialised medical training programmes complement this in an ideal way. So I am particularly pleased to be able to welcome the Aesculap Academy to Bochum and I am looking forward to the numerous cooperations which will be initiated here”. “The close proximity to the healthcare service providers and the integration in the university landscape means this location is right at the centre of research and teaching,” Mr Knaebel’s comments were warmly received. “The Ruhr-University Bochum is very pleased that the Aesculap Academy, a member of the worldwide B.Braun group, has come to the Healthcare Campus in Bochum right next door to the Ruhr University. Existing contacts can be intensified and I am sure new ones will be made in future!” Gerhard Möller, Chancellor of the Ruhr-University Bochum said at the foundation stone laying ceremony. Arndt Winter, Head of the State Centre for Health North-Rhine Westphalia underlined this statement as well: “I am looking forward to being neighbours with the Aesculap Academy and hope it will lead to a fruitful partnership with the Healthcare Campus NRW when it comes to ensuring the provision of sustainable training programmes and qualifications for healthcare professions and treatment for patients. With the Aesculap Academy and the new Healthcare University both the city and the region have succeeded in strengthening their position on these important future-oriented issues.”

The contract for the approximately 4300 m² site in the BioMedical Science Park Bochum was signed in June last year. The 3200 m² new building will be spread over two construction phases. In the first phase workshop and seminar rooms, an exhibition and advice centre as well as office and technology spaces will be created on two floors. An exhibition in the “Expertisium” on the topic of medical knowledge transfer rounds off this project. The building will be constructed according to a design from the Günter Hermann Architects in Stuttgart who won the design competition. “The overall concept convinced us on both architectural and design levels and it will certainly do justice to the high functional demands of a medical training centre”, Knaebel explained the jury’s decision. The first construction phase involves investments amounting to around 10 million Euros and the Aesculap Academy is planning to open their doors in April 2013.

“The fact that the Aesculap Academy has decided to locate here and lay the foundation stone today is a great pleasure for us, a confirmation and a positive signal all at the same time: it is a great pleasure because such a well respected company is opening a new branch here in Bochum; it is confirmation that we are doing things right in Bochum as a company like B.Braun Melsungen AG is taking up our services for the healthcare sector, and it is a positive signal because it means the development of the BioMedical Science Park and the Healthcare Campus is becoming even more concrete”, enthused Johannes Peiling, responsible for the development of the BioMedical Science Park at the Entwicklungsgesellschaft Ruhr-Bochum mbH. When the site has been successfully integrated in the overall landscape here, the second construction phase of the Aesculap Academy Bochum can be started. The site has already been purchased and the draft design has been prepared. The second module will join directly onto the first and will provide a lecture theatre with 126 places as well as more workshop and seminar rooms. 6.5 million Euros have been calculated for this and construction is expected to take 14 months.

The Aesculap Academy GmbH is a subsidiary of Aesculap AG, a division of the internationally active healthcare suppliers B.Braun Melsungen AG. With offices in Tuttlingen and Berlin as well as at 30 international locations, the company has been considered to be one of the most significant forums for medical training and continuing education worldwide since 1995. Every year over 70 000 experts from a variety of medical fields take part in courses offered by the Aesculap Academy around the world. The Aesculap Academy’s core business is providing “skills method training” in the field of surgery, anaesthetics and in all operation and intervention medicine and nursing care disciplines as well as providing special training concepts for hospital staff and personnel in doctors’ practices. The courses are developed in conjunction with top experts and opinion leaders with a board of scientific advisors ensuring the high quality of the course contents.

Photo above: At the foundation stone ceremony and looking forward to the Aesculap Academy Bochum and the cooperations this will lead to: (from the left) Dr. Joachim Schulz (Board of Aesculap AG), Architect Günter Hermann, Felicitas Janßen (Managing Director Aesculap Academy), Arndt Winterer (Head of LZG NRW), Gerhard Möller (Chancellor RUB), Lord Mayor Dr. Ottilie Scholz (City of Bochum), Prof. Dr. Hanns-Peter Knaebel (Chariman of the Board Aesculap AG), Dr. Dr. h. c. Elmar W. Weiler (Principal RUB), Dr. Harald Stallforth (Board of Aesculap AG).

Construction work on the new buildings may now begin on the basis of this development plan. The new buildings are the Healthcare University of Applied Sciences (hsg), the canteen and library buildings, the new European Protein Research Centre (PURE) and a building for institutions belonging to the NRW Health Ministry including the State Centre for Healthcare, which is currently still located across the road in the BioMedical Science Park Bochum. In addition to the core area of the Healthcare Campus, other areas have also been set aside for possible extensions.

The development plan is based on the design by the architects Leon, Wohlhage, Wernik from Berlin who won the design competition held in the year 2010. The key elements of this urban planning design with its campus terrace area, clearly defined compact buildings, the green areas around them and the internal development of the site have all been implemented in the development plan. The public were involved at various stages throughout the procedure which included an open public meeting in June 2010.

Possible buildings at the Healthcare Campus NRW

Finally, on 1 March 2012, the council was able to pass Development Plan 286 d – Healthcare Campus NRW. The City of Bochum then agreed to the building application for the Healthcare University of Applied Sciences in the same month. In advance of this, the site had already been cleared of any damage due to mining subsidence and preparations for developing the campus site had also been carried out. An access road with two roundabouts will connect the two sites of the Healthcare Campus and the BioMedical Science Park with each other. A new tram station for the “Campusline” U35 will also create attractive links to the main railway station and the University Campus.

This all means that the complex legal requirements are running exactly on schedule, something which does not always go without saying. Construction work will begin before the summer so the Healthcare University of Applied Sciences (hsg) can get started for the winter semester 2014 as planned.

“The Bergmannsheil is in a better position than ever before – as regards the buildings as well as from a medical and economic point of view,” commented Xaver Schmidt, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. “You, Mr Kick, played a decisive role in this,” Schmidt referred to the many new buildings which were planned and constructed under Mr Kick’s responsibility, with the most comprehensive construction work amounting to a volume of over 100 million Euros currently still underway. This new building comprises wards and a specialist wing including a new accident and emergency section, modern operating theatres, intensive wards and specialist departments.

Mr Kick summed up by saying: “I am very grateful for the trust that you have put in me and for the fact that I was allowed to work for this clinic for more than two decades. I will always feel very close to the clinic.” His successor will be Clemens Maurer who was formerly employed as the Managing Director of the Katholische Klinikum Duisburg gGmbH.

The European Protein Research Unit Ruhr within Europe (PURE), which was founded at the Ruhr University Bochum with support from the NRW Ministry for Innovation, Science and Research, has appointed Priv.-Doz. Dr. Anke Reinacher-Schick as Professor for clinical and translational gastroenterological oncology (W2-analog). The 44 year old is a specialist in internal medicine as well as in haematology / internal oncology. She has been employed at the Knappschaftskrankenhaus as a senior physician since 2004.

The professorship for haematology and stem cell transplants (W2-analog) was received by Prof. Dr. Roland Schroers who has been working as a senior physician at the medical clinic of the Knappschaftskrankenhaus since 2008. The focus of his current scientific and clinical work is on modern diagnosis and therapy procedures for lymphoma and related haematological diseases. He has been heading the stem cell transplant unit at the Knappschaftskrankenhaus since 2010.