Why the Clinical Center?

On the Frontline of Medical Discovery

At the Clinical Center we lead the search for better health. For over 45 years the Clinical Center has been the site of the intramural clinical research for the National Institutes of Health. Our research teams and volunteer patients seek answers together, sharing the challenge, excitement, and joy of our work.

Unique as the world's premier clinical research facility, we have more than 1,500 laboratories conducting basic and clinical research. Research at the Clinical Center focuses on the study of rare diseases and phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, making us a special national resource. Our hospital serves patients from all over the world and our laboratories support Nobel Prize-winning research.

The Clinical Center is indeed a center of excellence. It is in the heart of the NIH campus and the crucible in which ideas spanning the spectrum of biomedical research are tested. The Clinical Center serves the intramural clinical research programs of 15 Institutes. This is an exciting time of growth and expansion for the Clinical Center with construction of the new Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center underway. The new structure will connect to the old, include 250 beds for inpatient and outpatient care, and will expand opportunities for physicians and patients to participate in cutting-edge research and scientific advances.

We are a leader, a proving ground for new medical protocols and an international forum for sharing clinical experience. But most of all, we are a team of people: physicians, technologists, technicians, therapists, nurses, and support staff working together with dedication, spirit, and vision toward discovery.

So, come, join us on the edge of discovery.

From theory to practice

As a vital link between biomedical research and the patient, the Clinical Center has been designed with patient areas located adjacent to corresponding laboratories. Fresh concepts in theory become major medical breakthroughs in clinical application as clinical investigators move quickly between the bench and bedside.

Referred to the Clinical Center by their physician, our patients participate in approximately 1,000 research protocols examining such diseases as cancer, HIV infection and AIDS, diabetes, arthritis, sickle cell anemia, emphysema, mental illness, and epilepsy. Investigators from each of the 15 Institutes conduct research ranging from the basic biology of the cell to clinical applications of the most recent technology.

Very special patients

We recognize that our most precious resource, our unique patient population, has special needs. Many of our patients are far from home. Some are here for a long time; others must return frequently.

Each year about 6,500 inpatient admissions are recorded at the Clinical Center, some lasting for a few days, others for months. Another 70,000 individuals visit outpatient units. Our patients come from both the US and abroad, representing a diversity in disease as well as in nationality, culture, language, and background. But they are united by their hopes for care, compassion, and perhaps a cure. Not many hospitals have the resources to accommodate such a unique population. Ours does.

To enrich and enhance our patients' time at the Clinical Center, Social Work and Spiritual Ministries offer support to patients on many levels. We sponsor carnivals, picnics, field trips, and other recreational activities designed to make the most healthful use of our patients' leisure time, as well.

We know that the research patient is a special person, a colleague in the progress of knowledge. We make a special effort with programs such as the Patient Emergency Fund and the Friends of the Clinical Center. The Children's Inn at NIH, just a short walk from the Clinical Center, provides a home-away-from-home for our young patients and their families while children undergo treatment. We also offer Camp Fantastic, a summer camp for children with cancer. We have an office of volunteers that brings interpreters, friendly visitors, and personality to the hospital. Further enhancing the environment are galleries showing original and reproduction art throughout the hospital.