BOSTON—HGA has announced the completion of the new Center for Advanced Heart Failure & Cardiomyopathy Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston. HGA reimagined the patient and provider experience, to create the new outpatient clinic through a full-gut renovation of approximately 11,000 square feet on BIDMC’s West Campus.

BIDMC is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, the current leading cardiovascular services provider in eastern Massachusetts, seeing more than 5,000 patients each year with advanced heart failure. A chronic condition, heart failure can be treated, managed, and sometimes cured.

The newly designed outpatient clinic accepted its first patients in June 2024. It consists of 10 exam rooms, and several specialized spaces for performing echocardiograms stress-tests, ultrasound, and two infusion treatment rooms specific to the care of heart failure patients. Staff spaces were uniquely designed, balancing off-stage areas to allow for respite and focus, with on-stage open nurse stations and carefully positioned sightlines. Footsteps and travel distances were of paramount focus throughout the design, both for staff operational efficiency and patient experience.

The design creates a warm, welcoming, and anxiety-reducing setting for patients while incorporating BIDMC’s design standards by featuring shades of blue, purple, and beige. In addition to modern flooring and innovative lighting, HGA designed a contemporary ceiling feature in the waiting area. This organically shaped and naturally patterned lighting feature provides a soothing, calm environment for patients and their families. This feature was inspired by the fractal patterns and shadows found with the leaves of forest canopies, immediately creating a sense of comfort and reduction in stress.

During the early stages of the design process, HGA’s design team, including members of the Design Insight Group, met with key stakeholders for a two-day workshop focused on developing the new clinic with a comprehensive patient care model that serves patient treatment and testing needs. In advance of the workshop, HGA researched current state assessments to identify Critical to Quality (CTQ) metrics, laying the groundwork for a productive and informed collaboration with the clinical staff and key stakeholders. The HGA research team worked with the clinic manager to plan for anticipated volumes.

“The HGA team was able to collaboratively identify the design that best met the goals for the new clinic,” said Kevin Wyrsch, HGA principal. “The purposefully designed facility required technical healthcare design for groundbreaking technology that supports the Center for Advanced Heart Failure & Cardiomyopathy Care’s support of the  Beth Israel Lahey Health heart transplant program.”

Goals that guided the clinic design included:

• Human Experience: clear wayfinding and easy access, quality of environment to match quality of care, bring the services to the patient, right size staff lounge, provide soothing views of Boston’s Emerald Necklace
• Operational Efficiency: sufficient storage, conveniently located, Universal, flexible exam rooms and infusion spaces, staff visualization flow, easy to maintain finishes and materials
• Clinical Outcomes: safe waiting for immunocompromised patients, exam rooms close to phlebotomy, space to accommodate a six-minute walk test

The project included HGA’s architects, medical planners, interior designers, and lighting designers, in addition to HGA’s Design Insight Group to collect data and develop processes.

Specialty Consultants and Partners:

• MEPFP Engineer: Fitzemeyer & Tocci Associates, Inc.
• Structural Engineer: Souza True & Partners. Inc.
• Construction Manager: Suffolk Construction

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RIVERSIDE, Calif.—Designed by interdisciplinary firm, HGA, and delivered through a design-build partnership with Turner Construction Company, the new Student Health and Counseling Center at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) is now providing a holistic approach to wellness for students across the University’s campus. Medical, mental health and wellbeing services are integrated throughout the comprehensive two-story, 39,450-square-foot center that includes a primary care clinic, women’s health services, laboratory services, a pharmacy, counseling offices, and a conference center. The University celebrated the state-of-the-art facility’s opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new Student Health and Counseling Center (SHCC) has been carefully situated in the northern residential district of the campus, convenient for student access. It replaces the University’s former Student Health Services and Counseling and Psychological Services, which were located in aging 1960’s era buildings south of the new site. Both departments, Student Health and Counseling and Psychological Services are the largest operators in the new Center, which now includes more than double the number of exam rooms and offers a wide array of upgraded spaces to support student health within walking distance from the residence halls.

The new facility offers additional health services in a single location for the first time to complete a seamless wellness experience, including Case Management Services and the Student Well-being, Intervention, and Follow-up Team (SWIFT) that handles crisis response. The Well—UC Riverside’s health promotion and education department—and Basic Needs, which assists students with essential needs and provides for students with food insecurity issues, also have satellite spaces at the new facility. The increased space for medical services results in increased appointment availability for more efficient treatment. To support this, the space also includes a significant technology upgrade, which is being accompanied by a redesigned website where students can easily manage their healthcare.

HGA’s design of the Student Health and Counseling Center relied on evidence-based practices to ensure all departments can work together synergistically within the new healthcare environment. Laboratory services were relocated to be directly adjacent to the clinics for improved connectivity and communication between the clinicians and lab staff and to ensure patients could provide their specimen collection as part of their appointments.

The design also focused on the student experience, providing a modern healing atmosphere for those who are ill and a welcoming space to promote ongoing services and preventative care for students campus wide. Soothing, biophilic design elements contribute to the overall environment with large windows that allow natural light and take advantage of views of the Box Springs Mountains to the east and the Wellness Court and green belt to the south. A custom wood art wall design accents the main lobby reception area and the counseling center features specialty wood ceilings. A spectrum of soft blue, yellow and green pastel colors decorate walls in the first and second floor lobbies, a nod to the calming effects of nature.

The building’s multiple entries provide enhanced accessibility for students, staff, and visitors that arrive at the Center. The main entrance, located on the front of the facility and highly visible from the main thoroughfare of West Linden Street, provides vehicular access and drop-offs. A second entry, located off of the central courtyard, provides easy access for students walking to the Center from the dining and residence halls to the south. A third key entry is provided on the west side of the building, allowing for discreet ambulance access to the facility, for students requiring transport to a local hospital.

The design of the new center achieves the University’s sustainability goals anticipating a LEED Silver certification while addressing environmental concerns through embodied carbon reduction; human health concerns through nutrition programs, improved air quality, acoustics, and the incorporation of biophilic design strategies.

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BUTTE COUNTY, Calif.—A groundbreaking ceremony marked the beginning of construction for Enloe Health’s new Gonzales Comprehensive Cancer Center. The new state-of-the-art facility will serve Northern California communities, offering advanced treatments and equipment with compassionate, patient-focused care.

Located in Butte County, where cancer is the leading cause of death, the Gonzales Comprehensive Cancer Center will offer life-saving cancer care as well as education and screening, in an accessible location. With a partnership that began in 2022, Enloe Health engaged HGA’s interdisciplinary team to design a facility that could support a wide range of treatments, enhance the patient experience, support staff wellbeing, and provide a connection to the community.

“We chose to partner with HGA because of their strong healthcare and cancer facility expertise. HGA’s thorough research and benchmarking of other cancer facilities resulted in a design for the Gonzales Comprehensive Cancer Center that will offer our communities the advanced care they need and want, without having to drive far from home,” said Mike Wiltermood, President & CEO of Enloe Health.

HGA’s design includes various holistic and biophilic elements including a healing garden, a family lounge with an outdoor patio, and a quiet room. When accessing the facility from the west side patients will be immersed in nature, with pathways covered in trees and other plantings leading from the parking lot to a healing garden at the west entrance. An elegant water feature will create a sense of peace and a ceremonial bell, that will be rung by patients who have completed treatment, is intended to inspire a sense of hope and ease patient anxiety before stepping into the facility.

Once inside, patients will be welcomed by an abundance of natural light and soothing warm colors flowing throughout. Clear wayfinding will direct patients throughout the three-story facility and waiting areas are strategically located in view of administrative staff for patient support and guidance. Arranged for patient ease and accessibility, the first floor will include the radiation and oncology departments, a patient and family resource center, and an alternative therapy suite including acupuncture, massage, and other support services. The second floor will consist of clinics, with universal exam rooms and the ability to flex and expand as patient needs shift. The third floor will house infusion services.

On the third floor, windows will wrap around three sides and an expansive outdoor deck will offer patients receiving infusions views of nature, including mountains to the east. Patients will have a variety of options for where they receive their treatment including community infusion spaces, private rooms, and infusion bays. A comfortable seating area featuring a fireplace will create a warm, homelike atmosphere. Vertical sunshades on the outside of the building are designed to prevent direct sun and excessive heat, while allowing for ample glazing and views to the exterior.

Equally important to patient comfort and care is staff wellness. Included on all floors, staff lounges will provide respite, away from patient care areas. Staff lounges will open to outdoor spaces and are designed with a living room feel, with soft lounge seating and a coffee bar. Each floor will include separate patient and staff hallways for circulating throughout the facility, providing staff respite and allowing for shift preparation outside of patient view

“Working with Enloe Health was a rewarding experience because of their goal of focusing on the patient experience,” said Jennifer Ries, medical planner with HGA. “We implemented our holistic design approach, focusing on how the patients and staff would use the space, which naturally aligned with Enloe’s vision for the new cancer center.”

Expected to be complete in Summer of 2026, the Gonzales Comprehensive Cancer Center will fill an increasing, critical need for cancer care and resources in Northern California. Read Enloe Health’s press release here.

In addition to Ries, project team members include James Willsie, principal –in-charge; Karenda MacDonald, project manager; Kevin Day, lead designer; Tracy Randall, interior design lead; and Shaun Coffey, designer.

Project collaborators include:

General Contractor: Swinerton
Structural Engineering: Buehler
Electrical /Low Voltage: ECOM
Mechanical/Plumbing Engineering: Weston and Associates
Security: Marquis
Medical Equipment Planning: Criterion
Civil Engineering: Northstar
Landscape Architecture: Fuhrman Leamy Land Group
Physicist Consultant: Therapy Physics, Inc.
Art Consulting: Grigio Consulting
Program Management: Covalus

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—The University of Kentucky broke ground today on the new UK Cancer and Advanced Ambulatory Building, located across from UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital on South Limestone. The 550,000-square-foot facility will become the new home to the UK Markey Cancer Center, Kentucky’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, as well as a Comprehensive Spine Center, ambulatory surgery space, and other outpatient services.  The Cancer and Advanced Ambulatory Building and an adjacent 2,400-space parking structure are slated for completion in 2027.

“As Kentucky’s flagship university, we have a responsibility to lead the way in health care,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “This building signifies our commitment to addressing the critical health needs of our state, providing advanced care across various disciplines and ensuring that Kentuckians have access to the most innovative treatments close to home.”

“Congratulations to the University of Kentucky on today’s groundbreaking and for helping advance health care across the Commonwealth,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “This new state-of-the-art facility will help more of our Kentucky families defeat cancer and access the critical health care services they need to be healthy and thrive here at home.”

“This precision programming is the next level in clinical research that may bring critical, early diagnosis and individualized care for far better cancer outcomes than we experience today,” said Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers. “Investing in this project now is investing in the next generation of healthier Kentuckians.”

Currently, Markey’s outpatient services are located in six different areas across the UK Chandler Hospital campus. The new facility will bring Markey Cancer Center’s outpatient clinics and oncology support services under one roof – providing convenience for patients and fostering collaboration among Markey clinicians and researchers.

“This facility will enable our talented clinicians and researchers to work together like never before, accelerating innovations that will directly translate into better outcomes for our patients,” said B. Mark Evers, M.D., director of the UK Markey Cancer Center. “In a state that still holds the highest cancer rates, this building represents our commitment to expanding care, growing our capacity, and ultimately, conquering cancer in the Commonwealth.”

The building will house Markey outpatient clinics including chemotherapy infusion, radiation medicine, multidisciplinary oncology, gynecologic oncology, breast care center and hematology/bone marrow transplant. Designed to provide a streamlined patient experience, the facility will also include a full spectrum of cancer care services including imaging, lab, urgent care, pharmacy, palliative care and rehabilitation.

The new facility builds upon the momentum of Markey’s September 2023 designation as an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center. The NCI’s highest designation, held by only 57 cancer centers nationwide, recognizes excellence in basic, clinical and community-based research. With the NCI designation, Markey is uniquely positioned to offer the latest clinical trials and most advanced treatments.

“The new facility embodies the research-driven, transdisciplinary care that is the hallmark of an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center by providing the infrastructure to expand clinical trials, accelerate discoveries, and ensure our patients have access to the most innovative treatments available,” said Robert S. DiPaola, UK provost and co-executive vice president for health affairs.

Additionally, the building will feature expanded space for Markey’s Cellular Therapy Program and its Precision Medicine Clinic, the only in Kentucky to offer early phase clinical trials for adult cancer patients. The expanded space will give even more patients in Kentucky access to the next generation of cancer treatments, including personalized medicine tailored to patients’ unique genetic profiles and innovative cellular therapies that harness the immune system to kill cancer.

In addition to cancer services, the new building will also house a new Comprehensive Spine Center with a transdisciplinary approach dedicated to offering a wide range of services designed to diagnose, treat and prevent spinal conditions.

This will include experts working together to provide the best option for patients from four key departments – orthopedics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurosurgery and anesthesiology. The collaborative space will also foster new transdisciplinary research and education opportunities in these areas.

“As the academic health system that serves all of Central and Eastern Kentucky, it’s our responsibility to provide the care our citizens need,” said Colleen Swartz, D.N.P., acting UK HealthCare chief operations officer. “The issue of chronic pain is one that affects the quality of life and the livelihoods of tens of millions of Americans. In this new facility, we’ve taken the opportunity to build out a solution to help Kentuckians who suffer from back pain. Bringing all these disciplines together into one building is not only convenient for patients, but it allows our experts to more easily collaborate to determine the best course of treatment for each individual patient.”

The new facility will also have a floor dedicated to ambulatory surgery and procedural space focused on cancer-related surgeries. This area will include eight operating rooms capable of accommodating endoscopic procedures as well as intake, recovery bays, central sterile and endoscopic processing units.

The UK Board of Trustees approved initial planning and design in May 2021. Project partners include Walsh Construction, HGA Architects and Engineers, and Champlin Architecture.

The UK Cancer and Advanced Ambulatory Building was designed with patient input to ensure a streamlined and supportive experience. Design features include generous green spaces, abundant natural light, and dedicated areas for meditation, dining, and collaboration to promote wellness for patients, families, and staff.

The complex was also designed with shelled space for future growth, reflecting UK HealthCare’s dedication to meeting the ever-evolving needs of cancer patients from Kentucky and across the region.

In the past 10 years, Markey outpatient clinic visits have increased by 57%, including more than 120,000 patient visits in fiscal year 2021.

“In the past decade, we have seen an incredible increase in the number of patients who need the level of expertise that our physicians and health care staff provide,” said Eric Monday, co-executive vice president for health affairs. “With 300,000 square feet of space dedicated to cancer services and room for additional growth, this facility will give us the ability to treat and heal even more Kentuckians for years to come.”

Construction for the project is being funded by UK HealthCare. State and private funds will be used to support Markey programs and services in the new facility. In 2021, UK HealthCare announced a historic $10 million gift from Central Bank – the largest in UK HealthCare history – to help expand patient care. The gift launched a joint campaign with the Markey Cancer Foundation to raise $90 million to improve cancer care in Kentucky.

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MAPLEWOOD, Minn.—Crowding and capacity constraints continue to stress hospitals nationwide as the number of patients seeking care increases, and the ability to discharge them to more appropriate levels of care decreases.

Emergency Department (ED) and inpatient medicine teams at M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood have tirelessly confronted this challenge, facing a 5 percent rise in inpatient visits and a staggering 12 percent increase in ED visits since 2022. With limited capacity and space, and a commitment to improve patient care while visits are only expected to grow, teams at St. John’s devised a strategy for improving patient flow by expanding the emergency department, reorganizing existing services and — now — opening a new, purpose-built “short-stay and observation unit” to support newly developed workflows.

What sets this groundbreaking facility apart is the innovative construction method employed. Conventional construction posed further disruption to an already strained ED operating above capacity, so the teams at St. John’s embarked on a quest for innovative solutions. The breakthrough came in the form of a pre-fabrication technique in collaboration with construction firm The Boldt Company, and interdisciplinary design firm, HGA. The 16-bed unit was built to over 90 percent completion offsite in Appleton, Wisc., then seamlessly transported and installed on the St. John’s campus – the first of its kind in the state of Minnesota.

The short-stay and observation unit embodies M Health Fairview’s commitment to providing exceptional healthcare services by rethinking how teams work together to serve patients, no matter the circumstances.

“In the face of escalating patient visits, our ED and inpatient medicine teams have been proactive and innovative in their response,” said Will Nicholson, MD, vice president of medical affairs for M Health Fairview St. John’s, Woodwinds, and Bethesda hospitals. “This approach is a game-changer. It allows us to rapidly develop the needed space without impeding current operations.”

Construction of the unit began offsite in September. Crews delivered the prefabricated unit to St. John’s in late November, and teams then completed final construction and furnishing.

“We’re facing a very real need for patient bed space in our country right now.” said David Thomack, chief operating officer with Boldt. “Every day that is spent in planning, design or construction is another day that hospitals and patients must do without those beds. Using a modular approach, we’re delivering that space in half the time traditional construction would take, without sacrificing durability, quality or affordability, allowing healthcare providers to see patients months sooner.”

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MINNEAPOLIS—An HGA-Designed Surgical and Critical Care Facility has broken ground in the Twin Cities at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, aiming to offer advanced, cutting-edge healthcare for years to come.

The new HGA-designed surgical and critical care facility at Abbott Northwestern Hospital is the largest facilities project in Allina Health’s history. The new center will reimagine the hospital campus, revitalize infrastructure, and optimize essential services, providing a foundation for the future of Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Allina Health, a non-profit health system offering care to communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. As Allina Health’s quaternary care center, Abbott Northwestern is consistently ranked as the number one hospital in the Twin Cities, offering advanced subspecialty care for the most complex patients across the region.

Translating Research into Transformation

Driven by an increasing demand for private beds and procedure rooms, Abbott Northwestern Hospital began working with HGA in early 2021 to expand their campus. HGA collaborated with the Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Allina Health teams in the design of a highly integrative master plan for the addition of a surgical and critical care facility, along with phased removal and repurposing of aged facilities. A human-centered design process was utilized, translating user and staff experience research into well-defined experiential principles and design goals.

“We designed the site to open the hidden, unconnected campus outward to the surrounding community,” said Jennifer Klund, Principal at HGA.” She continued, “Public spaces and circulation systems will knit the existing hospital, surrounding buildings, and the new bed tower into a coherent complex with one clear front door and simple, understandable navigation.”

Constructed by long-term partner Mortenson, the facility is scheduled to be completed in 2026, part of a campus improvement plan taking place over a 10-year period. The surgical and critical care building converts Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s iconic Founder’s Mall into a welcoming arrival garden. Placement and massing of the building dramatically increases Abbott Northwestern Hospital’s visibility while minimizing its bulk from the surrounding neighborhoods. When complete, the addition will include 192 new beds, 30 new operating rooms and over one-half million square feet of new construction on a tight, urban site in the center of an operating campus. The design of the building complements a traditional urban campus with a fresh new look, melding effortlessly into the existing architecture.

Flexible for the Future

To prepare the hospital for the future of healthcare, HGA also established a new patient room and unit prototype. At the direction of hospital leadership, the patient room and unit plan use the DIRTT prefabricated construction system that uses a universal interface with interchangeable parts, allowing for reconfigurations, adaptations, and adjustments, as well as a longer life cycle in most cases. This will be the first large-scale inpatient use of the product in the State of Minnesota.

To support rapid advances in medical technology and surgical technique, new operating rooms were designed with flexibility and adaptation in mind. Patient rooms were designed with enhanced technology and accessibility and comfort features. The interventional platform provides new operating rooms and procedure spaces that address both patient outcomes and staff engagement. Modeled through simulations to demonstrate operational efficiencies, the platform offers long-term flexibility to respond to the changing nature of surgical case mixes over time.

Clarifying an Urban Setting

The roof of the interventional platform is designed as a roof garden, giving families and caregivers a landscaped refuge with great city views in a busy urban setting. The roof garden is also a central focal point for over 50% of the new and existing inpatient beds on campus. A new, glassy skyway connects all elements of the facility and provides visitors with dramatic views of the Founder’s mall as they traverse the campus.

Wayfinding and access to the Emergency Department has been clarified, and a large public art installation has been added to the Emergency Department parking area, creating a more intentional relationship with the adjacent residential street, and providing a welcoming experience for patients.

In preparation for construction, which was scheduled for two phases, HGA designed a 1,100-foot extension to a temporary skyway retaining intuitive wayfinding along the familiar main path to the hospital. The skyway also provides access to existing departments for visitors and materials during construction. Phase I of the project includes building a new entry over the old and demolishing an adjacent main parking ramp. Once the new surgical and critical care facility, parking deck and skyway are in place, the temporary connection will be removed.

To ensure constant hospital operations HGA designed a series of enabling projects that included a temporary front door, a skyway link to the new parking deck, interim materials management routes, and utility improvements needed to modernize the campus infrastructure. Designed to act as steps along the way to the final state, these enabling projects minimize the number of temporary structures and limit construction waste.

“The Abbott Northwestern Hospital campus has evolved and grown since 1887 and our commitment to this community has never wavered,” said Lisa Shannon, president and CEO, Allina Health. “We are creating a sustainable campus for the future that will support advances in health care delivery, meet the needs of our best-in-class workforce and enhance our value to the communities we serve.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—National interdisciplinary design firm HGA has announced the completion of Children’s National Hospital’s new arrival and patient experience located in Washington, DC. Considered among the top pediatric facilities in the nation, the institution, dedicated to neonatal care, neurosurgery, oncology, and other specialties, and sought after by patients and families from all over the nation, needed an upgraded arrival experience.

Prior to the transformation, most patients and their families accessed the 323-bed facility from a sub-level garage, where low ceiling heights caused poor acoustics, low lighting added to heightened anxiety levels, and lack of visual wayfinding cues contributed to a feeling of confusion. To create an improved experience, HGA’s integrated internal team of designers, registered nurse, and researchers analyzed the patients’ journey through the existing sequence, surveyed families and staff, and developed solutions to create a more hospitable and safer arrival to the hospital.

“We created a holistic arrival sequence with points of entry identified with a clean and clear design, introducing appropriate amounts of visual contrasts such as color temperatures, textures, and transparent versus solid surfaces,” said Kevin A. Day, Principal at HGA. “We designed a pleasant, stress-free arrival experience with wayfinding improvements that provided consistency for visitors as they move throughout the hospital.”

Features of the fully modernized entrance experience include:

• Vehicular traffic functions, including drop-off, pick-up, and ‘kiss and ride’ areas were designed for transparency and ease of flow;
• ADA-accessible parking areas were expanded;
• Pedestrian circulation routes and entries were separated from staff shuttles for safety and efficiency; and
• Additional improvements include a three-bank elevator system exclusive to visitors, new signage, and color-coded floor assignments coordinated with the hospital’s wayfinding improvement project. An impressive grand stairway in warm neutral tones and indirect lighting connects visitors to the main atrium and visitor check-in area.

HGA considered age, cognitive levels, diminished vision, neurodiversity, and accessibility when specifying lighting materials, placements, and illuminance. Interior lighting was specified with low unified glare ratio (UGR) levels and regressed lighting fixtures infuse underground hallways and elevator bays in ways that will not overwhelm children sensitive to light or their surroundings.

The new arrival sequence features a design that is calming and sensory stimulating – together they engage the visitor and help place them at ease. Engaging tactile surfaces now provide positive distractions. They include pops of color along accent walls and a 15-foot-tall structure, provided by RxArt Foundation titled, “Tree to Be Me,” that stands at the base of the stairway. The mixed media work of marble, steel, and fabric, created by The Haas Brothers, resembles a “magical beaded palm-tree” and features a “resident monkey” who greets visitors as they ascend the winding staircase.

“We reduced visual clutter and recreated a space so that people feel comfortable, even delighted, walking into Children’s National,” said HGA’s Terri Zborowsky, an evidence-based researcher at HGA.

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SAN JOSE, Calif.— The new Child, Adolescent, and Adult Behavioral Health Services Center at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) has celebrated the groundbreaking for the primary phase of construction. Designed by national, interdisciplinary architectural and engineering firm HGA, the facility will consolidate Santa Clara County’s behavioral health offerings, including Emergency Psychiatric Services and Urgent Care in one location when it opens to serve patients in Fall of 2025.

It will be the first County-operated inpatient facility specifically for children and adolescents in need of behavioral health care and will include a separate floor for adults. The three-story, 207,000-square-foot healthcare destination will also provide space for the county to expand its services to meet the growing demand for high-quality behavioral healthcare for residents and surrounding communities.

Located on the west side of the SCVMC campus at 751 S. Bascom Avenue, the Child, Adolescent, and Adult Behavioral Health Services Center will offer world-class behavioral health facilities for multi-generational patients in a safe and therapeutic environment. Key spaces within the complex will include a 77-bed inpatient behavioral health hospital that will accommodate adults and minors on different floors, separate outpatient urgent care for minors and adults, emergency psychiatric services (EPS) with separate secured ambulance entry bays and treatment spaces for minors and adults, as well as a shared pharmacy.

Additional spaces will include administrative offices, a pedestrian skyway bridge connecting to the existing emergency department and a new, 700-car parking structure.

“This is the kind of acute care facility we’ve long needed in Santa Clara County for young people in crisis — a sanctuary where they can safely begin to heal, close to home,” said County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who chairs the County’s Health and Hospital Committee and who first proposed the new facility in June 2015. “It’s clearly better for these kids to be close to their community when they’re in crisis — close to their family, their friends, and their own local health mental health providers. This is about troubled teens at risk of doing damage to themselves or others; this is about families, struggling through the hardest thing they’ll ever face, and being torn apart at precisely the time they need to be together,” said Simitian. “This goes to the heart of community health and wellness.”

With this new facility, SCVMC will expand its current adult behavioral health programs on the campus to include co-located outpatient and inpatient services for children and adolescents in an age-appropriate treatment environment. The building will enable a reduction of overcrowding in the EPS unit as well as provide proper zoning and sizing of the inpatient bed units with expanded bed capacity and access to the outdoors for patients on all levels.

HGA is working alongside the County of Santa Clara to develop a comprehensive facility that meets its vision for a safe and welcoming environment where families can feel assured that their loved ones are supported across a continuum of care, all in one setting. Working to bring this new facility to operation as quickly as possible, within a compressed design and construction schedule, HGA met with multiple, diverse user groups three days per week throughout the design phases to facilitate efficient decision-making and to progress the design with minimal changes.

HGA researchers engaged early in the process to set up a research platform to study the impact of improved patient privacy and access to outdoors on patient behavior and the need for restraint. Accordingly, the design of the new facility prioritizes connection to nature by including separate and distinct outdoor activity and recreation spaces for each inpatient unit as well as for Emergency Psychiatric Services. To help lower stress for patients and staff, the design includes the use of recliners located in a quiet zone, to create a restful and calming environment with a sense of privacy for patients who often stay up to 24 hours in EPS. Staff and patient safety were also important drivers of the design. For example, in addition to the ligature-resistant design features required for behavioral health facilities, HGA has designed spaces to allow for maximum visibility of the patients at all times.

“We understand effective design decisions can significantly enhance patient well-being and improve outcomes by providing the best possible environment for healing,” said Craig McInroy, principal at HGA. “It is an honor to partner with Valley Medical Center to design this new facility in order to meet the rapidly changing behavioral health needs of the community.”

The new Behavioral Health Services Center replaces the Barbara Ahrens Pavilion and Don Lowe Pavilion which formerly housed the adult inpatient units, adult EPS, and Mental Health Urgent Care. The design of the new Behavioral Health Services Center adheres to the strong modern language of the existing campus context, but also employs sustainable and biophilic design strategies to bring a natural and humane environment to the sensitive behavioral health population. These strategies include the incorporation of nature through multiple recreation yards and view gardens, large-scale biophilic graphics, large day-lit interior spaces and the use of natural materials like terracotta tile exterior cladding, high-performance glazing and exterior sunshades.

The HGA project team comprised members of HGA’s San Francisco office in collaboration with research and behavioral health experts from around the firm including Craig McInroy, principal; Craig Blackhurst, senior project manager and architect of record; Stephanie Sunseri, project manager; Michael Moores, HCAI specialist and architect of record; Ida Brown, project architect; Angela Falla, project architect; Kevin Day, project designer; Aaron Mullins, designer; and Heather Bachman, interior design lead and medical planning liaison.

Additional project collaborators included The Cuningham Group, associate architect and medical planner; contractors Webcor, SBay Construction, and Thompson Builders; Arup, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers, daylighting and lighting design services; Sandis, civil engineer; Charles M. Salter Associates, Inc., acoustical services; Royston, Hanamoto, Alley & Abbey (RHAA), landscape architect; Criterion Systems, equipment planning; TEECOM, telecom services; Clearstory, signage and wayfinding; Lerch Bates Inc., elevator/vertical transportation, Chandra Cerrito / Art Advisor, art consultant; and PeopleSpace, furniture consultant.

The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification upon completion and is one of the first psychiatric facilities in the State of California to be designed to a new State regulatory category, OSHPD 5, for Inpatient Behavioral Health.

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CHICO, Calif.—HGA was recently selected to lead the architectural design, engineering, interior design and medical planning efforts for Enloe Medical Center’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. The 107,000-square-foot facility will consolidate Enloe’s existing ambulatory cancer services from across Chico, Calif., under one roof in a new community-based outpatient cancer center that will increase the system’s capacity to be able to care for 2,000 new patients each year with the addition of new cancer specialists and an expanded range of services and programs.

Set to open by late 2025, the new facility will serve California’s North State region that annually records higher rates of certain cancers, often diagnosed at a later stage, and higher rates of mortality when compared to other parts of the state and country. In Butte County, where Enloe Medical Center is located, cancer is the leading cause of death.

“We know that with enhanced education, screening and early diagnosis followed by appropriate treatment and survivorship services, cancer survival rates can significantly increase—that’s why the Comprehensive Cancer Center is so important for our community,” said Mike Wiltermood, CEO. “At Enloe Medical Center, we’re proud to treat the vast geography of northern California, and this facility will help us to better serve all of our patients with better preventative care as well as new oncology therapies and programs.”

Located at East 20th Street and Bruce Road in southern Chico, a few miles from Enloe’s primary campus, the Comprehensive Cancer Center will fill a critical gap in the area’s health services left by the recent Camp Fire that destroyed 30 percent of Butte County’s healthcare infrastructure.

The Comprehensive Cancer Center will be outfitted with new equipment and spaces to provide expanded diagnostics, advanced treatment options, additional supportive therapies and more, including:

• Screening and diagnostic imaging spaces
• Radiation oncology services supported by advanced linear accelerators and a brachytherapy vault
• Infusion treatment spaces for chemotherapy complete with new infusion chairs
• Examination and treatment rooms
• Cancer-centric clinical and administrative offices, including pharmacy
• Physician and family meeting rooms
• Spaces for education and wellness activities as well as survivorship programming
• Relaxing respite areas for patients and loved ones

“The new Comprehensive Cancer Center will add much-needed capacity for expanded services and programs supported by top-of-the-line equipment that drives positive clinical outcomes,” said Denis Stroup, HGA’s principal-in-charge. “We share in Enloe’s goal to deliver the best the industry has to offer in cancer care through an environment on par with the larger healthcare systems that are not as easily accessible to local residents.”

Throughout the holistic design process, decisions are being cross-checked and validated by research and benchmarking conducted by HGA’s Design Insight Group (DIG). The group is evaluating data collected by Enloe Medical Center to modify design inputs and determine how they can potentially improve space programming.

“HGA implements an evidence-based design approach with every project we undertake,” said Jennifer Ries, Principal and Sr. Medical Planner. “In clinical settings, the data we review is critical to achieving operational efficiency and treatment outcomes while improving the experiences of patients, physicians and medical support staff alike. It’s always a pleasure to work with clients like Enloe Medical Center that share in this vision for the future of healthcare.”

“We selected HGA due to the firm’s demonstrated ability to leverage deep benchmarking, expertise and empathy in medical planning in addition to their portfolio of previous cancer care projects,” added Kevin Woodward, CFO. “Their team’s focus on an evidence-based approach is in perfect alignment with our commitment to patient-centered care as a Planetree Gold hospital, and we look forward to working with them over the next couple of years.”

The new center sits on approximately 13 acres with over half of the site reserved for the Comprehensive Cancer Center building and necessary parking. The open, cleared parcel was gifted to Enloe Medical Center by Dan and Dawn Gonzales, developers of the adjacent Meriam Park mixed-use community. Fundraising efforts are currently underway for the $120 million dollar Comprehensive Cancer Center, which marks “Phase I” in a multi-phase expansion by the regional medical center to deliver new forms of enhanced care for the North State region.

“This project is so exciting,” says Denise Adams, who is on the board of the Enloe board of trustees. “I am one hundred percent behind it. It’s wonderful for the community. Patients will be given high quality treatment and treated close to home. I’m so excited to be on board. I’m really thrilled to be a part of the process as we move forward with the project.”

In addition to Stroup, the HGA team includes Terri Zborowsky, design researcher; James Willsie, project manager; Brent Peterson, operational efficiency expert; Kevin Day, project designer; Jennifer Ries, medical planner; and JoAnn Brookes, project architect.

Additional project collaborators include Buehler Engineering Inc., structural engineering; ECOM Engineering, electrical and low voltage engineering; Weston & Associates, mechanical and plumbing engineering; Criterion, medical equipment planning; NorthStar, civil engineering; and Marquis, security. Swinerton was recently selected as the contractor.

The post HGA to Design New California Cancer Center appeared first on HCO News.

DAVIS, Calif.—HGA recently announced the completion of a leading-edge healthcare project—UC Davis Health’s new state-of-the-art Eye Institute designed by HGA in partnership with TEF.

The Ernest E. Tschannen Eye Institute Building is a carefully balanced integration of a partial renovation of the existing Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) with a major new addition. The resulting 78,500-square-foot building reserves a floor of clinics for general medical center use, as an expansion of the ACC, and includes 64,160 square feet of space dedicated to Eye Center operations, including physician offices and conference areas. UC Davis announcement here as well for reference.

The project was launched with a substantial gift from Ernest E. Tschannen, who had his sight restored by a clinician from the center. The endeavor was delivered under a design-build model led by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and supported by Vanir Construction Management.

The team of designers and consultants included architect Chris Downey, who lost his sight in 2008 and has since dedicated his career to enriching the environment for the vision impaired. Downey’s insights were key to the implementation of empathic design principles, and the resulting patient-focused design for the new Eye Center offers a comfortable and intuitive experience for all.

The building provides the Eye Center’s leading vision scientists—100 percent of whom are funded by the National Eye Institute—the ability to increase capacity for clinical trials by 50 percent.

The post UC Davis Welcomes Leading-Edge Eye Institute appeared first on HCO News.