Driving into University City, it’s difficult to miss the Penn Medicine Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
As of last week, the building’s exterior now displays a new name — The Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs. The change marks the latest step in renaming the $1.6 billion facility, after Catherine and Anthony Clifton donated $120 million to Penn Medicine last February.
A request for comment was left with Penn Med.
The Pavilion first opened in October 2021 and is the largest capital project in Penn’s history.
The signage installation completes the building’s transition to its new name. The Clifton Center is a 17-story, 1.5 million-square-foot facility that houses 504 private patient rooms and approximately 50 operating and procedure rooms, along with a two-floor emergency department.
The Cliftons’ 2025 gift was one of the largest ever to name a United States inpatient hospital building.
“We have long admired its commitment to advancing medicine, pioneering new treatments, and ensuring that patients receive the highest quality care,” the Cliftons wrote in an announcement at the time. “It is our deepest hope that The Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs will serve as a catalyst for discoveries that will shape the future of medicine for generations to come.”
The building was designed to organize care by patient population and place related clinical units in close proximity. The facility includes intensive care units and step-down units within the same specialty located near one another to create “a more efficient patient flow, fostering seamless patient care and improved outcomes.”
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“When nurses have competencies to address particular patient populations, we know that they provide more proactive care based on anticipated needs; this drives quality and minimizes complications,” HUP CEO Regina Cunningham wrote on a Penn Med webpage. “Members of the clinical teams need to communicate with one another. When you work in geographic proximity, it enhances communications and care.”
In the February 2025 announcement, Penn President Larry Jameson added that the Cliftons “are revolutionizing the future of health care” through their contribution to the Center.
“Their extraordinary generosity will leave an indelible mark on Penn Medicine, accelerating innovation in patient care, research, and medical education,” Jameson wrote.
The Cliftons are longtime supporters of Penn Med. Catherine Clifton has served on the Penn Medicine Board since 2010 and comes from a family with a history of philanthropy at Penn — including her father, Comcast founder Ralph Roberts, and her brother, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.
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Senior reporter Ananya Karthik covers central administration and can be reached at karthik@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies communication and economics. Follow her on X @ananyaakarthik.
