New Elks Children’s Eye Clinic building opens to patients

Health Care , Eye Health & Research
Elks Children's Eye Clinic
Elks Children's Eye Clinic
The 60,000 square-foot Elks Children's Eye Clinic building at Oregon Health & Science University's Casey Eye Institute, featureing a striking skybridge between two buildings that is adorned with color-changing glass; in the photo, the glass appears yellow with trees and clouds reflected in blue.
The 60,000 square-foot Elks Children's Eye Clinic building expands the footprint to Oregon Health & Science University's Casey Eye Institute to two neighboring buildings. The building features a striking skybridge between the two buildings that is adorned by color-changing glass. (OHSU/Ellen Redenbo)

Patients young and old have a new, welcoming space at Oregon Health & Science University to receive state-of-the-art eye care for issues ranging from macular degeneration to inherited conditions that can cause blindness.

On Dec. 8, the 60,000-square-foot Elks Children’s Eye Clinic building opened its doors after two and a half years of construction. As a result, OHSU’s ophthalmology department, better known as the Casey Eye Institute, is now based in two neighboring buildings.

Front exterior shot of a building with lettering above the door reading "Oregon Elks Children's Eye Clinic"
The 60,000 square-foot Elks Children's Eye Clinic building opened to patients on Dec. 8, 2020, and expands the footprint to Oregon Health & Science University's Casey Eye Institute to two neighboring buildings. (OHSU/Ellen Redenbo)

The structure is named after the Oregon State Elks fraternal organization, which donated $20 million toward the $50-million project and has supported pediatric eye care at OHSU for seven decades. Among many other generous donations that made the new facility possible is a gift from the Wold family to support macular degeneration research.

The five-story building is home to:

Elks Children's Eye Clinic
Oregon Health & Science University's Casey Eye Institute opened its second facility, the new Elks Children's Eye Clinic, to patients on Dec. 8, 2020. Shown here are multicolor lights that are strung overhead of an outdoor patio designed to give patients and staff a place to relax. (OHSU)

“The new Elks Children’s Eye Clinic represents a monumental game changer in pediatric ophthalmology,” said Daniel Karr, M.D., director of the Elks Children’s Eye Clinic and professor of ophthalmology in the OHSU School of Medicine. “Because of the Oregon Elks’ enduring commitment to our program, we are now reaching a new plateau of care.”

One of the project’s most striking features is the dynamic skybridge that connects the new structure with the original Casey Eye Institute building, both of which are located in the 500 block of S.W. Campus Drive on Portland’s Marquam Hill. The skybridge is adorned with a special, color-changing glass that shifts between green, yellow and blue hues as lighting conditions evolve.

For more information, see the OHSU Casey Eye Institute announcement.


Franny White
Senior Media Relations Specialist
OHSU
503-494-8231