FRISCO, Texas—Parker Performance Institute, designed by the Dallas studio of Perkins&Will and located in The Star in Frisco, is a first-of-its-kind sports and rehabilitation clinic. The students, specialized clinicians, and chiropractic professionals at Parker Performance apply neuroscience to physical rehabilitation. For a clinic that delivers high-tech, cutting-edge treatment, designers braided the electric atmosphere of a training gym and the healing clarity of a spa.

Balancing the dual athletic and healing user experiences in the clinic, Parker Performance is organized into two zones, each with its own character. Echoing mind and body, the zones are distinct but not disjointed. Some highlights of the space include:

An Open Performance Zone – First, visitors enter the open, high-energy performance zone. It embodies athleticism and vigor with dark metal accents, turf, digital displays, and a sense of expansiveness despite the relatively small, elongated existing space. Designers leveraged mirrors, exposed structural components, and natural light to animate this half of the interior, also emphasizing the cutting-edge technology.

Intuitive Navigation – A continuous light runs above the core circulation path, which is defined by a detailed feature wall. This marks the transition from communal, highly visible training area to the zone of private care. A pattern of wood slats along the wall—also incorporating metal mesh and steel trim—creates a warm material rhythm that guides you through the full length of the space and highlights custom detailing. Branching off the main path are clean, bright pods of exam rooms with neurological and visual equipment used for light therapy, vertigo treatment, and PTSD patients.

Innovative Technology – Parker Performance is an innovative space with advanced tools not commonly available in clinics, from dynamic posturography and virtual reality to 3D diagnostics. The design balances this tech-forward environment with human touches, not losing sight of the emotional side of performance and recovery.

Designed with Light – Light is strategically layered throughout to ground the experience and transform the ambiance as you walk through the space. Tall windows pull sun into the open athletic zone while translucent materials deeper into the space create privacy without losing the glow of daylight. In the interior healing and massage rooms, bright tones and indirect, color-changing circadian lighting—customizable for patients—offer a soothing retreat.

Parker Performance Institute is a human-centric, high-end experience of healthcare that supports peak performance in body and mind.

Project Start Date: September 2021
Project’s Completion Date: July 2023
General contractor/construction manager: Skiles Group
Square Footage: 9,200 square feet

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.—With more than 56,000 low-income South Minneapolis residents in need of healthcare and social services, Southside Community Health Services is committed to expanding its offerings and reach with the construction of its new clinic, One Southside. The health care provider recently signed a ground lease with Ryan Companies US, Inc. at 1010 East Lake Street in Minneapolis, just east of the Midtown Global Market. Ryan Companies US, Inc. owns the land and will build the new 30,000-square-foot clinic.

“Our current facilities don’t allow us to reach the thousands more in need and do not live up to the award-winning quality of care that Southside provides and that our patients deserve,” said Ann Cazaban, executive director of Southside Community Health Services. “More than 40 percent of Southside’s patients were uninsured last year, clearly indicating a need for clinics like One Southside.”

One Southside will allow the organization to grow its patient base, expand services, extend hours of operation and deliver all of its services under one roof to better meet the healthcare needs of patients and the community. The new facility will also include a diagnostic laboratory, mammography suite and bring Southside’s administrative offices into the new space. Southside is currently operating between two different buildings located one mile apart.

“The expansion of Southside goes beyond the enhancement of its services and reach,” said Maureen Michalski, vice president of real estate development, Ryan Companies. “This project also represents local investment, economic development and job growth in a prominent community-focused commercial node that will benefit meaningfully from these resources.”

To date, Southside has received grants from the following organizations: Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), K.A.H.R Foundation, Mackenzie Scott’s Yield Giving fund, Mainstreet Revitalization, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization and the Restore-Rebuild-Reimagine Fund. The healthcare and social services provider is still seeking financial support from federal, state and local governments to build its new facility, as well as corporate, foundation and individual investments. Southside has requested $10 million from the state.

Designing One Southside is 4RM+ULA as the architect of record and Perkins&Will as the clinic architect with Zuri3 Construction as the construction manager and Classic Lake Consulting as Southside’s representative. Construction is estimated to begin mid-2024 and completed by mid-2025.

Ryan has played a major role in the Midtown area of Minneapolis, where the new Southside clinic will be built. The commercial estate services company was awarded the redevelopment of the Midtown Exchange by the City of Minneapolis in 2004. Ryan partnered with community leaders, business leaders and the city to create a vision that solidified the connection between the Midtown Greenway, Lake Street and Chicago Avenue. Ryan has owned and managed the Midtown Exchange since 2006.

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AMARILLO, Texas—Texas Oncology recently broke ground on a new 50,000-square-foot cancer care center in Amarillo that will significantly expand the capacity of the practice to meet the growing need for cancer care in the Texas Panhandle. Located at 1826 Point West Pkwy., the new comprehensive cancer center will provide medical oncology, hematology, gynecologic oncology, radiation oncology, breast radiology, surgical oncology, and colon and rectal surgery services. Once open, patients and their care teams at the existing Texas Oncology, Texas Oncology Surgical Specialists, and Texas Breast Specialists located at 1000 S. Coulter, Suite 100 in Amarillo, will move to the new facility.

Skiles Group is the general contractor on the project, and Perkins&Will is the architecture firm.

“The new, larger facility will increase access to high-quality cancer care, radiology, surgical procedures, and other services for patients in Amarillo and surrounding communities,” said Steven Paulson, M.D., president and chairman of the board, Texas Oncology. “Texas Oncology is a leader in community-based cancer care, and we believe that patients should be able to get leading-edge cancer care from local expert oncology teams, with the critical support of family and friends nearby.”

In addition to multi-disciplinary cancer care, the new center will be nearly a third larger than the current facility and will offer patients opportunities to participate in innovative clinical trials and cancer research. The facility will also provide educational services, genetic risk evaluation and testing, pharmacy services, and support groups.

“Texas Oncology has deep roots in the Amarillo community, and we’re proud to have served this region for more than 20 years,” said Vance Esler, M.D., executive vice president-managing medical director and regional medical director, Texas Oncology. “Offering a comprehensive array of care and services in this single location means a cancer diagnosis can be effectively addressed with less overall disruption to patients’ lives. As the population of Amarillo grows, but also ages, this modern facility will help ensure that we can meet the increased need for leading-edge cancer care in the region.”

NexCore Group, a healthcare-focused real estate developer, last year purchased 4.85 acres of land to develop the freestanding center, which is expected to open in late spring 2023.

Texas Oncology is an independent private practice with more than 500 physicians and 210 locations across the state. Meeting the oncology needs of Texans for more than 35 years, the practice includes Texas Center for Proton Therapy, Texas Breast Specialists, Texas Colon and Rectal Specialists, Texas Oncology Surgical Specialists, Texas Urology Specialists, and Texas Center for Interventional Surgery.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Architect of record SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative), along with project partner and design architect Perkins&Will, have unveiled plans for the new University of Rochester Orthopaedics & Physical Performance Center. Phase one of the outpatient campus will be located in a former Sears retail space at the Marketplace Mall in Henrietta, N.Y. Once complete, it will be one of the largest outpatient orthopaedics facilities in the Northeast.

The new facility reflects a convergence between the surge in e-commerce resulting in available retail spaces and a growing demand for more robust healthcare infrastructure across the country.

“As healthcare facilities across the U.S. look to decentralize their services, the adaptive reuse of underutilized retail space represents a huge opportunity for institutions, like the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), to expand their outpatient reach by moving to the mall.” says Scott Hansche, AIA, principal-in-charge at SLAM, who serves as Architect of Record for the project.

The full $227 million, 350,000-square-foot facility includes a 210,000-square-foot renovated space and a 140,000-square-foot new outpatient clinical services building that will house 140 exam rooms for orthopaedic care.

Designed to be patient-oriented, the team brought daylight into the existing Sears footprint through a series of skylights and an internal courtyard that also functions as a rehabilitation space. Overall, the design of the building’s sinuous facade represents the idea of movement, emblematic of the orthopaedic care provided within its walls.

The new facility reflects a current urgency to find design solutions that expand infrastructure into underserved regions, helping to address the country’s healthcare equity gaps. One of the goals for the design team was to foster a feeling of familiarity and accessibility.

“Repurposing a traditional community anchor, such as a mall, helps upend perceptions of healthcare facilities as centralized urban complexes,” says Robert Goodwin, FAIA, design director of Perkins&Will’s New York studio. “We are integrating healthcare into the existing fabric of the community rather than asking patients to travel to a facility that might be hard to reach.”

The focus on accessibility was amplified through a series of decentralized entry points and the addition of a dedicated bus stop outside of the outpatient facility along the mall’s usual route.

“While the facility is in a distinctly suburban location, it was crucial that we make its services accessible to everyone within the community, including those without access to a car,” adds Goodwin. “At the same time, because we are locating this facility at a mall, we knew there would be ample parking on site and that the community would know how to get here.”

Breathing a second life into an expansive yet under-utilized retail complex also yields both economic and environmental benefits, allowing the design team to repurpose existing infrastructure and resources, while reducing costs and construction times.

The renovated portion of the project is 200,000-square feet of a surgical platform with three operating rooms, a three-room procedure suite, advanced imaging, clinical research, education, administration, physical therapy, and a human performance and injury prevention center.

The addition of URMC’s outpatient facility is intended to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the remaining retail environment by providing additional foot traffic through the mall. A major entryway will connect and integrate the healthcare space to the rest of the campus, creating a mutually supportive relationship.

“We saw an opportunity to build a center that’s not only right-sized for patient volumes, but also expands on treatment options and convenience for patients,” says Paul T. Rubery, MD, Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

“This project answers an urgent, unmet need for patients: faster access to surgery and provider appointments, a convenient location, and a campus and treatment space designed precisely for patients with painful orthopaedic conditions and mobility challenges. This campus employs design strategies to make navigating the space as easy and comfortable as possible,” adds Rubery.

The multiphase project will be complete by 2023. The first phase, relocating the orthopaedic administrative offices to an adjacent renovated lease space, was complete and occupied in the fall of 2021. The second phase, the conversion of the former Sears store to an outpatient surgical center, will be complete by fall 2022. This will be followed by a rehab and sports performance center next spring, and a four-story, 144-bed clinic space in the fall of 2023.

Quick facts:

Architect of Record: SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative)
Design Architect: Perkins&Will’s New York studio
Local Construction Administration Architect: Dwyer Architectural
Location: Rochester, New York
Status: In Construction
Completion Date: 2023
Size:  350,000-square feet

Editor’s Note: A report from SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative) contributed strongly to this article.

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FRONT ROYAL, Va.—Hammes Healthcare, a provider of consulting and project delivery services, recently celebrated the opening of the new Valley Health Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, which opened to patients on June 23. Hammes Healthcare provided operational readiness and transition planning services to ensure a safe, timely opening of the new 177,000-square-foot replacement hospital.

Hammes developed an Operational Readiness Plan for 20 different departments, specialty and primary care clinics to ensure preparedness for their first patient before moving into the new hospital and attached medical building. Hammes facilitated the development of an operational task list, the development and coordination of the requisite training and transition schedule. Leading up to the opening of the new hospital, Hammes simultaneously led the transition planning efforts to move the physical assets, equipment, departments and patients from the old hospital to the new.

One month before the opening, Hammes led Valley Health’s staff through a series of mock scenarios to test new operations to ensure the clinical and ancillary staff were truly “patient ready.”

“Our team members were critical in keeping this project on track during the COVID pandemic when Valley Health’s leadership and staff were operationally overwhelmed,” said Michael Killian, Regional Vice President of Hammes Healthcare. “We’ve had a great partnership with Valley Health on this and other projects and are proud to see the new Warren Memorial Hospital fully operational serving the community.”

Hammes Healthcare has had a longstanding relationship with the Valley Health System, providing project management services for four previous hospital expansion and renovation projects in Virginia and West Virginia.

The architect for the new facility was Perkins&Will and the contractor was Howard Shockey & Sons.

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CHARLESTON, S.C.—A new 625,000-square-foot women’s and children’s care facility is officially open at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston. The Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital & Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion encompasses 10 stories and has a patient capacity of 250 persons. The tower stands adjacent to an existing four-story medical podium.

The MUSC campus specializes in solutions for rare healthcare issues that can be especially sensitive for female patients to discuss openly with their caregivers. These include high-risk pregnancies as well as labor and delivery care. The facility prides itself on being an autism-friendly hospital.

The pavilion hosts 36 mother/baby postpartum and antepartum rooms as well as seven “couplet care” rooms for newborns and their mothers to jointly recover following the birth. In addition, the facility has two obstetrical operating rooms and a “stork” elevator to move expectant mothers directly from the hospital’s entrance to the maternity ward, located on the fourth floor.

In addition to providing more space for medical use, the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital & Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion integrates technology so that patients can be tracked within the hospital in real time. Furthermore, families and friends of the new mothers and their children can visit virtually thanks to innovative technology that allows video conferencing beyond the facility’s physical walls.

The design of the healthcare project, by architect Perkins&Will, entails a staff terrace as well as a “Child Life” play area that makes children feel more at home and less as if they are in a healthcare facility. Furthermore, to maintain a setting that is better for patients with autism, the design emphasizes a lack of “visual clutter” as well as lighting schemes that are meant to be illuminating but not upsetting to those who are especially sensitive, such as those on the autism spectrum. The schematic also removes as much audible noise as possible so as not to upset patients.

As hurricanes are a fact of life in South Carolina, the exterior needed to be strategically reinforced to meet excessive winds as well as be able to deflect heavy and dangerous items that can be picked up and tossed about during such a storm.

Manuel Cadrecha, architecture design principal at Perkins&Will, said that his firm was excited at the opportunity to build a new healthcare facility that will be a long-term part of Charleston.

“Every design decision, from the architectural form to the art on the walls, has resulted in a building that could belong nowhere else,” Cadrecha said in a statement emailed to HCO News.

Working in conjunction with Perkins&Will was general contractor Robins & Morton.

“MUSC relinquishes traditional notions of what a children’s hospital should be, and instead, is designed with a sensitivity tailored to the specific needs of those who use the space,” said Carolyn BaRoss, healthcare interiors design director for Perkins&Will. She added that paying greater attention to the needs of families and caregivers allowed the designers to better envision the end product.

“We drew inspiration from their honesty and aspirations,” BaRoss said.

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It’s critical that healthcare leaders across the world implement resilient design into the planning of today’s healthcare facilities––particularly given the unprecedented challenges 2020 has brought about. Now more than ever it is a priority to integrate adaptable and long-lasting design solutions into these establishments to better influence patient outcomes.

These ideas became more prevalent to me after participating as a panelist for a discussion on “Resilient Design in Healthcare,” which was sponsored by the Texas Chapter of Women In Healthcare. The discussion was set up to ensure that each panelist was serving the healthcare community in a different way, bringing unique perspectives to the conversation and facilitating a meaningful exchange of ideas. Subsequently, the panel included a project manager and owner’s representative, the resilient officer for the city of Dallas, and an MEP engineer. Below, I outlined five primary takeaways from the conversation:

Defining Resilient Design

Resilient design is the ability to proactively identify vulnerabilities from natural and man-made threats, and to create design strategies that address these potential threats. Created by either acute shocks or chronic stressors, these threats can be considered from an economic, social and/or environmental lens. As a result, a design created with resiliency in mind must be flexible enough to adapt to our ever-changing environment. Equally important to consider is a human-centered approach that encompasses equity, inclusion, and justice, as we must consider who is not at the table, who could be harmed, and who is being served.

Identifying the Highest Risks and Potential Consequences

With lives at stake, the interruption of continuous operations such as electricity and running water is a profound concern, which can lead to the loss of lives as well as liability and lost revenue. Redundant electrical and mechanical systems as well as utilities such as water lines are found to be a successful strategy in this event. However, systemic inequity continues to be a factor of life and death for communities of color, and healthcare systems have a responsibility to take care of the most vulnerable people in their community. For example, Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth, and uninsured patients are also predominantly Black. To fight inequity, we must acknowledge it and try to understand it so we may formulate a plan to stop it. We also must make concerted efforts to educate people on career opportunities within the healthcare industry and help facilitate a path to get there.

While the strategies above apply to most healthcare projects across the industry, it is important to recognize that most risks are location specific and should be researched and gain consensus from the team as to what risks are most likely to happen and which would have the highest consequences.

Finding the Best Approach and Implementing Strategy

At the beginning of each project, it is important to ask three questions:

1. What are the local climate projections?
2. What are the vulnerabilities?
3. What strategies address these vulnerabilities?

A visioning session with all stakeholders is essential to having buy-in from all members of the team, as a cross-disciplinary approach will ensure that every area of expertise is considered. Risks must be identified as to what is most likely to occur and what approach will have the highest consequence, allowing the use of funds to be thoughtfully allocated within a project. When talking about resiliency, it is also important to consider public outreach and education to prevent people from becoming inpatients as they are often of higher acuity than in the past. This takes on a wellness strategy, aiming to keep the population healthy rather than solely addressing illnesses.

Adopting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

When asking ourselves why communities of color don’t trust the healthcare system, providers must look inward at how policies have perpetuated inequity and how it can be addressed by creating accountability through metrics to close the gap. Identifying goals is just one step––we then, must continue to work towards them.

It’s also important to note that the trade workforce is aging and not enough young people are going into trade jobs. This conversation brought about a critical reminder that there is a lot of great opportunity in bringing more people into trade training programs and creating more trade career paths where people can make good money––as systems and equipment are increasingly technical and these organizations need people to build and maintain them. Recruitment should start in a facility’s own backyard creating a homegrown talent pipeline which benefits the community the buildings are in.

Reshaping Our Thinking

There are many strategies that are possible for the near and long-term as well as for existing and new builds. Ultimately, the key philosophy is adaptability. The use we have for a space may change over time or only be needed during a surge so we must design spaces that are flexible enough to work with changing needs. For example, creating flexible spaces that may be converted into a mass triage or additional beds can be accomplished by hiding plumbing, med gas and electrical outlets in spaces normally used for public functions. Acuity adaptable beds are also a great strategy allowing wholesale changes in acuity to units as the need arises.

We have also been seeing a paradigm shift where staff are being cross trained to be able to assist where needed as people overwhelm the hospital. Operationally, the flow of patients throughout has been streamlined with curbside check-in and ‘wait in car’ policies.

This year has reminded not just leaders, but all professionals within the healthcare industry, that we must implement thoughtful processes into our facilities––which requires us to challenge our traditional ways of thinking and planning.

Julie Frazier, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP BD+C, is an associate principal, health, with Perkins&Will.

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LOS ANGELES — Innovative and contemporary hospital designs have succeeded to not only guarantee patient satisfaction, but to also reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. Research has shown that hospitals featuring new designs and amenities increase patient satisfaction significantly. Even one study, conducted by Professor Dana Goldman and Associate Professor (Research) John A. Romley at the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California, showed that amenities are a larger factor in driving traffic to hospitals than clinical quality. As a result, amenity-filled hospitals with modern design features are attracting more patients, which benefits the hospital’s top line.

Interior Design has placed Perkins+Will the No. 2 firm on its annual Top 100 Giants list—moving themselves up one spot from the 2016 rankings, and two spots from the 2015 rankings. The recognition is based on overall interior design revenues across all project types. The firm holds its No. 1 position for healthcare interior design on the Top 10 Giants by Sector rankings. It also took the No. 2 ranking for “Most Admired Firm”—up one spot from 2016, according to a statement. 

Jennifer Riddle Curley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, project associate and Stephanie Domek, IIDA, LEED AP ID+C, interior project designer of Perkins+Will spoke with HC+O news to discuss efficient design strategies and the benefits of quality interior design in healthcare facilities. 

Q: What are the biggest trends you’ve seen affecting hospital interior design?  

Domek: Off the top of my head, three trends:

A Consumer Experience.  Creating a more amenity and hospitality rich program to improve the patient and their family’s experience within the healthcare environment.

Designing for the Evolving Workplace.  Improving the quality and functional space for multidisciplinary caregiver teams to create successful teaming performance and benefits for staff retention.

Technology.  The rate of advancement and adoption of technologies, leveraging technology to engage better with patients and staff collaboration, as well as planning for the unknown. 

Q: How have you incorporated these techniques into designs you’ve worked on recently? 

Domek: Design strategies to address these trends include visioning sessions early in the process to identify the community qualities the hospital wants to emphasize and how the hospital wants the patient experience to feel.  Additionally, a deeper dive into current workplace strategies are now being regularly discussed to help the facility understand the variety of workspace typologies available for today’s teams.  I recently had a conversation that involved acknowledging that a laptop does not need to sit on a desk all day.  Healthcare organizations are at different places on the journey to redesigning new ways of how they do work and how interior design can improve their workflow goals.  

Q: How do these design trends affect the patient/user experience? 

Domek: As hospitals understand the patient as a consumer concept, the patient experience is directly affected in a positive way by coming to expect a higher level of service, easier forms of communication, and spaces designed with improved comfort, acoustics, lighting, and overall quality. Indirectly, patient experience is affected by progressive workplace strategies employed in facilities that aid team-based collaboration and allows staff to choose where they can do their best work. (ie. open touchdown, a quiet enclave, a social setting, or respite room.)

Curley: By improving the caregiver experience, it creates an environment where caregivers can concentrate on the job. Additionally, the improvements in the workplace environment can positively impact a facilities ability to recruit and retain talent.

Q:  How are these trends in line with general interior design trends across all building types? 

Domek: With the arrival of the Well Building Institute and Fitwell, healthy human-centered design aligns with evidence-based design in healthcare by bringing important features like daylighting, clean air, and comfort measures to the workplace.  The concept of wellness has permeated all building types. 

Q: How will interior design continue to advance healthcare today and into the future? 

Interior design directly affects the quality of the healthcare environment and can influence the way patients, families, and staff feel and experience the physical space.  The more we, as designers, can find synergies between current practices in adjacent markets like corporate commercial, education, and hospitality, the more healthcare design can create connections within the community as a destination for wellness. 

Q: What kind of feedback have you received from healthcare professionals on specific design techniques that interact well with their practice?  

Curley: Our academic medical center clients are requesting that we create true partnerships in the design process with their multi-disciplinary teams. We have been engaging with our client teams to execute week long 3P Kaizen events in lieu of the traditional hour-long user meetings that typically occur on a periodic basis. In the 3P Kaizen event, a diverse set of key stakeholders are brought together for an intense collaboration with the project team. These sessions require a substantial amount preparation to be successful, but the results are a broad consensus built around a design solution within a matter of days.

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RIVERSIDE, Calif. — After a long construction schedule that began in 2013, the Riverside Community Hospital (RCH) announced the opening of its brand new seven-story patient tower on Oct. 16, 2017. Orthopedic and surgery patients were moved in to the new tower space on Oct. 30, 2017 by hospital staff, volunteers and administration.

The new tower had a budget of $460 million. Perkins+Will was the architect on the project based out of their Los Angeles office, with DPR Construction based out of Redwood City, Calif. and Skanska AB out of their Riverside office offering construction services.

The vision behind the design of the project was to enable the hospital to provide cutting-edge technology, advanced services to critically ill patients and evidence-based design features that will enhance clinical operations, safety and quality and a more comfortable place for patients to receive care, according to a statement on the Riverside Community Hospital website.

The 285,000 seven-story square-foot tower includes 105 private patient rooms, a new cafeteria, kitchen and a new state-of-the-art laboratory. The new bed count includes 35 additional ICU beds, and 70 medical and surgical beds, which brings the total number of licensed beds in the hospital to 478 including the existing beds, with room for 84 more when needed in the future.

All new rooms offer floor-to-ceiling windows with sweeping views of downtown Riverside or Mt. Rubidoux, and feature tiled bathrooms with showers, allowing patients to experience a serene atmosphere for their recovery.

The new tower also includes a new surgical pre-op and post-op surgical recovery area. In addition, there is a new three-story medical office building, a new five-level 1,060-space parking garage, as well as additions and expansions to the medical imaging department equipment additions and expansions. Finally, a seismic retrofit and cosmetic upgrades were made to the existing patient tower.

“RCH has come a long way over the last decade and the completion of the new tower is a remarkable milestone for us as we continue to support the health and well-being of a growing community,” said Patrick Brilliant, president and chief executive officer at Riverside Community Hospital in a recent statement. “Our patients will receive the same exceptional care by our staff regardless of which tower they reside in. The addition of our new tower is a representation of our continued commitment to providing high quality, compassionate care in a healing environment for our patients.”

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It was previously reported that the project was slated for completion in summer 2017, however, the timeframe for completion has since been delayed by a few months. The $1.2 billion expansion will add 521,000 square feet, 3.5 acres of garden space, 149 patient beds and six operating suites, nearly doubling the size of the existing campus. Perkins+Will of Chicago and Hammel, Green and Abrahamson Architects of Minneapolis are leading the charge for the design of the expansion. DPR Construction’s Redwood City, Calif. office is serving as the general contractor.

“In our 25 years, we’ve become leaders in providing the best care for children and pregnant women. Keeping pace with the growing needs of our patients was the catalyst for this transformation,” said Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital CEO Christopher G. Dawes in an interview published in the Fall 2016 Stanford Medicine Newsletter.

This expansion will add incredible technological advances to the facility, including six new surgical suites, a nuclear medicine department, three new imaging units and four diagnostic units, including a cardiac “hybrid” angiography suite, according to a statement issued by the hospital.

Another major goal for the project is to make Lucile Packard more family friendly. Features of this plan include the construction of private patient rooms with space for families to be together during treatment and recovery, and amenities such as interactive sculptures to entertain and educate children and families. By making the hospital more family friendly, the expansion is intended to help improve the lives of patients and their families by easing the stress of a hospital stay. More than 800 physicians, nurses and parents have also supported this expansion, according to a hospital statement.

“From the beginning, the vision for expansion was not only founded in a mission to lead the way in children’s health but to nurture the whole family,” said Anne McCune, chief operating officer at Lucile Packard Hospital in the Fall 2016 Stanford Medicine newsletter. “Many of our patients require acute and chronic care, and the hospital becomes a second home for the entire family.”

Improving care at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, however, means more than just technological advances and new family-friendly attributes. Environmental sustainability is another major focus of this project. A wind turbine was installed to power the hospital, electric vehicle charging stations are now offered in the parking lot, and more than 3.5 acres of healing gardens and green space have been integrated into the project.

Additionally, rainwater harvest systems are being constructed to meet all of the irrigation needs for the property’s landscaping. The installation and use of this catchwater system will save more than 684,000 gallons of water each year, according to Robin Guenther, principal at Perkins+Will and lead designer of the hospital expansion. The hospital also installed water-efficient bathroom fixtures that will reduce water usage by 30 percent, according to a statement.

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