OHSU’s new 14-story Vista Pavilion is scheduled to start admitting patients in April, adding about 128 inpatient beds and many specialized treatment spaces for advanced therapies like stem-cell transplants and CAR T. The cancer-focused tower is designed to ease crowding on busy units across the Marquam Hill campus, and leaders recently previewed the nearly completed patient areas as final construction wraps up.
What the building includes
Built as part of OHSU’s broader hospital expansion, the Vista Pavilion is a roughly 530,000-square-foot, $650 million addition that connects to the existing hospital via three skybridges and will initially house 128 beds dedicated to the Knight Cancer Institute. According to OHSU, the facility includes space for stem-cell transplants, CAR T cell therapy, complex surgeries and imaging services, along with 125 patient parking spots and a new Campus Drive transit stop. OHSU’s timeline lists an April opening and shows April 7, 2026, as the date the new pavilion is scheduled to go live for patients.
Leadership and a sneak peek
At a media preview this week, Dr. Brian J. Druker, now CEO of the Knight Cancer Institute, and OHSU President Dr. Shereef Elnahal led reporters through the pavilion’s patient activity room and other completed areas. The Portland Business Journal published photos and credited Jaime Valdez Photography for an image of the activity room, which hospital leaders said was designed with patient input to support recovery and make it easier for families to stay involved. Those details were reported by the Portland Business Journal.
Why it matters for patients and the hospital
OHSU says dedicating the new tower to cancer care will free up space in Kohler Pavilion for expanded heart, brain and emergency services, a shift hospital leaders say should help shorten wait times and ease the system-wide bed crunch that has strained care across the state. Those operational changes and the building’s role as a capacity “release valve” are outlined by OHSU and described in recent reporting, which note that the pavilion’s dedicated cancer beds will let OHSU reshuffle where specialized services sit on the Marquam Hill campus. As outlined by OHSU News, the facility also includes multiple skybridges so patients and staff can move directly into existing hospital services without heading outdoors.
Construction, cost and local impact
Contractors described the site as “shoehorned” into Marquam Hill during construction, with tight clearances that required precise logistics and some serious heavy lifting to position skybridges and large materials, according to construction reporting. The $650 million budget and the project’s small footprint posed challenges throughout the build, but officials say the scale was necessary to increase specialized care capacity in the region. The expansion also follows Phil and Penny Knight’s landmark $2 billion commitment to the Knight Cancer Institute, which state and hospital leaders say will help underwrite programs and staffing as the pavilion opens; see reporting by Construction Equipment Guide and OPB for more on construction and funding context.
Staffing and next steps
OHSU and the Knight Cancer Institute are actively recruiting nurses, advanced practice providers and other staff to launch inpatient oncology services ahead of the April opening, with job postings already live for roles tied to the new unit. Listings emphasize coordinated, multidisciplinary care and 12-hour clinical shifts, reflecting the pace of a high-acuity inpatient cancer floor. Inpatient APP and other clinical roles are posted online through Teal, and hospital communications say more operational details will roll out as opening day approaches.
