Outpatient surgery center planned for new Rose-Hulman innovation district
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Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is partnering with the Indiana Joint Replacement Institute (IJRI) and Union Health to establish a $30 million outpatient surgery center at the planned Innovation Grove district on the Terre Haute campus.
The two-story, 40,000-square-foot facility will be built adjacent to a building that will house Rose-Hulman Ventures in the district.
Rose-Hulman said Wednesday that the surgery center will drive new research opportunities in biomedical engineering, provide hands-on experience for students, and bring in patients from all over the Midwest for orthopedic joint replacement surgeries.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Rose-Hulman President Robert Coons said he’s excited about the opportunities for undergraduate biomedical engineering students.
“These students go on to a variety of fields in biomedical engineering. So they may work for a research facility. They may work for a surgery center at some point. They may go on into medical school or other areas associated with that technology,” Coons said. “And what this does is gives them the opportunity for exposure of actually how the technology is being applied in the surgical arena, which is something really unique at the undergraduate level.”
Coons said the partnership stems from the IJRI’s existing relationships with the Terre Haute-based health system and Rose-Hulman Ventures. The IJRI, founded by CEO and Rose-Hulman alumnus Dr. Michael Meneghini, opened its first location at Union Health’s campus and also has a presence in Fort Wayne and Naples, Florida.
Coons, who serves as chair of the Union Health Board of Directors, said the health system has been cramped for space and was looking to potentially co-locate some of its operations.
Meneghini told IIB the partnership brings multiple benefits for his organization.
“It brings engineering collaboration,” he said. “Where the institute itself is is not just about clinical care—I mean, that’s our number one priority—it’s also very much about furthering our profession through research, education and innovation. Having access to world-class engineering students and a world-class faculty that exists at Rose-Hulman is very powerful for us. So that sort of collaboration allows us to take our engineering research up to the next level.”
In October, Rose-Hulman first unveiled plans for Innovation Grove, anchored by a $14 million, 35,000-square-foot facility that would bring Rose-Hulman Ventures closer to campus from its current location about six miles away.
The outpatient surgery center would be connected to that building via a walkway at the district, located at the corner of State Road 46 and State Road 42. The center would specialize in hip and knee replacements with up to four operating rooms, 14 recovery beds, X-ray and physical therapy services, as well as up to two dozen exam rooms.
Meneghini said the partnership creates a lot of biomedical research opportunities that students wouldn’t have elsewhere.
“The hip and knee implants themselves take a tremendous amount of biomaterials and biomechanical research to develop them,” he said. “What’s exciting about this is a student can go literally be in surgery, watch a surgery, watch a hip or knee replacement be performed, watch the implants that they’re working on engineering and designing going into a human. I mean, there’s probably very few educational opportunities as powerful as that.”
But Meneghini said in addition to performing surgeries in the new center, the IJRI will work on the educational side at the Rose-Hulman Ventures building to test out new concepts for hip and knee arthroplasty and assistive technology such as robotics and computer navigation.
“This has the potential to be one of the most exciting partnerships in the Midwest,” Union Health President and CEO Steve Holman said in a news release. “This new pathway will allow the best and brightest students in STEM to collaborate alongside skilled orthopedic surgeons and solidify Terre Haute as a renowned destination for orthopedic joint replacement surgeries in the Midwest.”
Coons called the partnership one of the most unique collaborations he’s seen in his 34 years at Rose-Hulman.
“It’s a dream example of how a successful alum can take his undergraduate engineering degree and parlay it into a really successful career, and then be willing to come back and reinvest in his community in this way,” he said. “It’s just really a great story.”
For his part, Meneghini said the effort is the pinnacle of his professional life’s work.
“To be able to blend engineering and orthopedics in such a meaningful way in my hometown, I don’t think words can describe how powerful it is for me personally.”
Rose-Hulman aims to break ground on the surgical center around the school’s homecoming in October with completion slated for mid-2026.