Pleasant T. Rowland Transplant Clinic opens at University Hospital
UW Health welcomed its first patients to the new Pleasant T. Rowland Transplant Clinic at University Hospital on September 6, marking a new era of patient care for the world-renowned organ transplant center at UW Health.
The new 10,000-square-foot clinic, located just inside the University Hospital clinics entrance, serves adult patients who are being evaluated for or who have received an organ transplant, as well as those who give the gift of life through living organ donation.
The clinic is named after local educator, entrepreneur and philanthropist Pleasant T. Rowland, whose $10 million gift helped make the new clinic a reality. Perhaps best known as founder of the Middleton-based Pleasant Company (now American Girl), Rowland has long sought to improve the Madison community through her many philanthropic contributions, but this gift may be one of her most personal. In 2012, after living in kidney failure for almost 20 years, Rowland underwent a kidney transplant herself at University Hospital thanks to the generosity of a living donor. According to Rowland, the transplant saved her from an uncertain future but also inspired her to give back to the center that helped her survive and to the many patients who come to UW Health seeking a second chance at life.
Conveniently located within steps of parking and valet services, the Pleasant T. Rowland Transplant Clinic provides the full spectrum of adult patient services in one location, eliminating the need for patients and their loved ones to travel to other areas within the hospital, according to Dr. Dixon Kaufman, transplant surgeon and medical director, UW Health Transplant Center, and professor of surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
“Patient-centered care has always been the heart of the UW Health Transplant Center, and our new clinic beautifully embodies that mission in its design,” Kaufman said. “We know that a successful patient experience is not just about the trusted relationships our patients have with their providers, but about the ease and comfort in which they encounter their care. Seeing those two elements seamlessly combined in one location is just the latest milestone for a Center that has been advancing the field of transplantation for more than 55 years.”
Arguably one of the most complex healthcare processes a patient can experience, organ transplantation requires a well-coordinated integration of medical expertise and services. The consolidation of all associated transplant services in one clinic – from lab work to radiology to nutrition counseling and health psychology – ensures the time that patients spend at the clinic flows smoothly and meets all their pre- and post-transplant needs.
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