REVITALIZATION OF THE MAGNUSON,WARREN,G. CLINICAL CENTER AT - THE NATIONAL-INSTITUTES-OF-HEALTH

For nearly 45 years the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center has been th e site of the intramural clinical research of the National Institutes of Health. It has served as the largest clinical research facility for the nation and the site for training many of the clinical investigato rs in the nation's academic medical centers. Research at the Clinical Center has focused on study of orphan diseases and phase 1 and 2 clini cal trials, and this research emphasis has made it a special national resource. Over the last decade there has been a dramatic decline in th e number of patients seen at the Clinical Center, as well as a perceiv ed decrease in the quality of research performed at the center. The de creased activity is related in part to fiscal constraints and the impa ct of the changing health care delivery system. The trends at the Clin ical Center are particularly distributing because they parallel what i s happening at academic health centers across the country Because its success is viewed as vital to national clinical research, a major effo rt has been undertaken to revitalize the center. This paper reports on the plans and activities undertaken to reorganize the center's manage ment, revitalize its infrastructure for conducting clinical research, establish vital clinical research training, and promote partnerships w ith extramural investigators who will benefit from access to the cente r. The hope is that the model established at the NIH Clinical Center w ill assist in the revitalization of clinical research across the natio n.