APOPKA, Fla.—Much like many areas across Florida, Apopka is seeing rapid population growth and a boom in its residential market. With a growing population, there came a problem: residents in the area about 30 miles northwest of Orlando had to travel a significant distance if they needed infusion therapy.

AdventHealth called upon RS&H to design its Apopka infusion therapy center and USP800 pharmacy that now meets the community’s oncology needs.

“The need for it was huge because of the population growth,” said RS&H architect Matthew Wall. “We’re providing something not just for the patients who are going through this facility but family members, so they don’t have to go through the extra stress of travel.”

The 13,489-square-foot project was completed in late April 2023 and finished under budget. RS&H drove the planning, architecture, interior design and structural engineering project phases, which strayed away from corral-style infusion design and focused on increased patient comfort and stress reduction.

After discussing AdventHealth’s needs, a state-of-the-art, large pharmacy was at the top of its list. The client wanted a direct line of service from the pharmacy to individual treatment.

Implementation of this project element was ideal, thanks to the project’s location on the top floor of the medical office building (MOB). This proximity allowed ventilation to the roof, allowing the harmful gasses produced when compounding treatment drugs to be exhausted through minimal ductwork.

Even though the clinic was the final addition to the building, the existing infrastructure caused a few challenges in the design of the space. Apopka MOB now boasts a 2,400-square-foot compounding pharmacy, similar to AdventHealth’s Celebration Campus Cancer Center. A 400-square-foot clinical laboratory complements the USP800-compliant pharmacy.

“The staff can walk over to one part of the space, get the drug, take it to the patient, and treat them in the same space without a delay in time, without an extra storage facility or third-party vendor like many places do,” Wall said. “With physicians on site, they can really examine the patient. It’s a full-circle treatment cycle, all in one location.”

The facility incorporates 15 typical infusion treatment bays, three quick-turn infusion bays and two private isolation infusion rooms with ensuite toilets in an intuitive layout. Patients enter the facility, receive treatment by easily finding marked bays along a path similar to a racetrack, and exit through the same door they entered. Physicians are in the center of the bays, creating an immediate visual connection between patients and staff.

“Even though you are with a clinician, it is a very streamlined process,” said RS&H interior designer Jessica Whitlock. “You do not have to go through a maze of bays and rooms; it is pretty clear.”

Individual bays give patients control of their time in the clinic. Spacious bays enable family and friends to accompany patients during treatment. Patient-controlled blinds, televisions and recliners come standard in each bay, while the isolation rooms allow higher-risk patients to be sequestered and protect themselves or other patients with compromised immune systems from transmitting illnesses to one another.

Patient-controlled paneling between bays allows patients to chat with neighboring patients if they feel up to it or provides privacy and quiet during treatment. Bays are situated along the exterior of the building, each with large windows allowing ample sunlight to enter the rooms. Thanks to the design, patients can create a biophilic and physiological connection with nature and sunshine to turn their focus to recovery.

“It is so much less stressful on the patient and staff members,” Wall said. “When you minimize stress, recovery rates are higher, and everything is much more improved, not just efficiency. There are statistics that prove that stress has a significant impact on recovery, so when you can limit that stress, you’re going to have a big impact on that chance for recovery.”

For decades at cancer centers worldwide, patients ring a bell as a milestone celebration for completing their treatment, sharing hope and a new outlook for other patients nearby. Bell walls are commonplace in infusion treatment centers, but this project had a larger vision for the area.

RS&H gifted an extended rope to the clinical team, who participated in the design process. AdventHealth is a faith-based organization, and the rope itself represents the Holy Trinity. The rope’s components – two white strands representing hope and healing and one blue strand representing RS&H – were woven together, creating a bond between the organizations and the project.

Scripture, poetry and other imagery surround the bell, providing a pop of color and optimism to all who enter the facility.

“We took the opportunity to elevate the design around this bell – to actually make it a moment in that particular patient’s journey,” Whitlock said. “We put it out in an area where patients, as they were going each time to the facility to get treatments done, would walk past it as a sign of hope and determination for the day when they ring that bell. It’s very special.”

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ORLANDO—Balfour Beatty has successfully delivered the new AdventHealth Training Center in downtown Orlando which serves as the training site for the Orlando Magic and a destination sports medicine center to Central Florida. The facility celebrated its official grand opening at a ceremonial event on August 31 with Orlando Magic, AdventHealth, Balfour Beatty executives and construction partners and AdventHealth sponsored athlete, Wendell Carter, Jr.

The completion of the state-of-the-art training center is a major achievement for the DeVos Family, Orlando Magic and AdventHealth partnership in building an innovative health and wellness model that brings whole-person medicine, science and research together to optimize sports performance, while bringing those learnings to the broader community.

Balfour Beatty served as general contractor and HOK provided design services for the $70 million project which features a 130,000-square-foot facility located on a nearly four-acre site at South Division Avenue and West Central Boulevard, one block away from the Amway Center. The facility includes an NBA training facility for the Orlando Magic and an AdventHealth outpatient clinic which marks the latest investment in the Parramore community.

“Balfour Beatty is honored to have the opportunity to deliver a state-of-the-art facility for the Orlando Magic and AdventHealth services in Central Florida,” said Scott Skidelsky, Balfour Beatty president in the Southeast. “The construction of the new AdventHealth Training Center is an industry-leading example of health and wellness buildings aimed at providing innovative training, performance and medical services for professional athletes and the local community. I’d like to congratulate our project team and partners for their role in providing a premier facility this is now the training home of the Orlando Magic and world-class medical care.”

Orlando Magic’s approximately 100,000-square-foot practice and training facility is designed to optimize player performance and provide world-class recovery space. A large team “living room” acts as the facility’s hub, complete with enhanced nutrition offerings and full kitchen. Leading training and recovery technologies, including an altitude chamber and hydrotherapy offerings as well as an expansive locker room with high-end finishes will elevate the player experience. The facility includes two full-size practice courts overlooked by an elevated viewing balcony.

To take advantage of Orlando’s warm climate, the design includes covered exterior patios and decks, a creatively landscaped outdoor team space and indoor/outdoor training space. The facility includes front office and hospitality spaces that celebrate the Orlando Magic’s brand and history. Additionally, the project incorporates sustainable design strategies including daylighting and strategic sun shading, stormwater management, and advanced mechanical and lighting systems and controls.

“We want to thank Balfour Beatty for assisting us in making our goals and vision a reality,” said Magic CEO Alex Martins. “Through much hard work, a commitment to local woman and minority owned contractors and with a great deal of determination, we have developed a world-class training center for our Magic players, coaches and support staff that is stacked with the resources and technology to make it one of the best in the NBA. Our players, coaches and staff can’t wait to get in and get started.”

The completion of the AdventHealth Training Center adds to Balfour Beatty’s portfolio of work with the Orlando Magic, a construction partnership which includes the delivery of previous small continuing works projects at Amway Center.

AdventHealth’s new 33,300-square foot medical center – designed for elite athletes, as well as youth athletes and weekend warriors – provides world-class, multi-discipline medicine with a focus on whole-person health and sports science. Services will include orthopedics, primary care, sports medicine, imaging, rehabilitation and sports performance. Patients will also have access to AdventHealth’s network of sports-trained gastroenterologists, cardiologists, sleep, psychology and nutrition experts.

“AdventHealth and the Orlando Magic have a shared a longtime commitment to inspiring and helping our neighbors be the healthiest they can be. Through our partnership, we’ve cared for Central Florida in a variety of ways, and I’m excited for this new opportunity to expand our philosophy of whole-person care to whole-athlete care,” said Randy Haffner, president and CEO of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division. “Whether you’re working to get back to playing in the yard with your grandkids, completing your first 5k or dreaming of going pro, our sports medicine experts are ready to support your personal health and athletic goals. The AdventHealth Training Center is a resource for all, and I’m excited for this next chapter in our partnership.”

Balfour Beatty and its partners worked with the Orlando Magic and AdventHealth to award  $17 million in design and construction contracts for the project to 33 local Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE). That amount represented approximately 32 percent of awarded opportunities, which is over the city’s recommended 24 percent MWBE participation goal.

The training facility and sports medicine center is now open to the Central Florida community, and welcomes current Orlando Magic NBA players, including the team’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Paolo Banchero, and prospective free agents and staff.

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ORLANDO—Stevens Construction, a healthcare, hospitality and commercial construction manager, has relocated into a new office at 4798 New Broad St., Suite 320, to accommodate its acceleration in the Orlando market, announced Michael Waskiewicz, Orlando division manager.

Stevens Construction’s current Orlando projects include a 37,000-square-foot medical office build-out and multiple projects within several Central Florida hospital campuses.

Stevens Construction expanded from its Fort Myers headquarters to Orlando in 2008 to better serve Central Florida clients. The team has previously completed multiple projects for various campuses of AdventHealth, as well as projects for Osceola Regional Medical Center, Hilton Grand Vacations, Buena Vista Urgent Care, Lennar and other hospitality properties.

With offices in Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota and headquarters in Fort Myers, Fla., Stevens Construction specializes in providing construction management, general contracting and consulting services to clients and design professionals. Other services include site and design team selection, budgeting, project scheduling, permitting, cost and quality control and warranty service.

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PALM COAST, Fla.—Healthcare operations company AdventHealth announced this month that it will construct a new 100-bed hospital in Palm Coast to supplement the firm’s many other care sites throughout the Sunshine State.

The new facility will be called AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. All told, the $100 million project will include an emergency department, full-service imaging facilities, five operating suites, outpatient lab and labs for heart catheterization and endoscopy services. Of the 100 beds, 80 will be for general or surgical care, with the balance being utilized for the needs of critical care patients.

The healthcare campus will encompass 10 acres, allowing for expansion in the years ahead. In the meantime, a 30,000-square-foot medical office building is in the works for the site.

AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway will be the largest healthcare investment to date in Flagler County, which is located in a part of Atlantic coastal Florida not too far from Daytona Beach. Because the population of Flagler County is projected to experience rapid growth in the next decade, additional investments in the area’s healthcare infrastructure were needed to meet the expanding populace.

And thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit Florida especially hard, the need for the expansion of healthcare services could not be timelier.

“COVID-19 has shown us the importance of strong healthcare infrastructure and, while these plans were in motion before the onset of the pandemic, our recent experience underscores the need for fast access to quality health care,” David Ottati, president and CEO of AdventHealth Central Florida Division-North, said in a recent statement. “We look forward to bringing our world-class services closer to home for more people in this growing region.”

“The ability to get to an emergency department in minutes can mean the difference between life or death for our patients,” added Dr. Paul Mucciolo, chief of staff at AdventHealth Palm Coast. “I’m thrilled that even more families will be just a few minutes’ drive from our world-class care.”

Ron Jimenez, CEO of AdventHealth Palm Coast, echoed those sentiments, saying that the project will “strengthen our presence in this community with a second world-class hospital.” Jimenez said that his firm looks forward to improving relationships with the community as the project moves forward.

Construction is due to commence in September. The current project timeline has the four-story hospital coming online sometime late in 2022. It is anticipated that nearly a thousand new jobs will be coming to Flagler County thanks to the AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway.

AdventHealth’s other work in Flagler County includes $15 million donated to the community in 2019 alone. In 2020 the company also gave $50,000 to Flagler Cares, a program that promotes health, wellness and social welfare infrastructure to Flagler residents as a way to reduce health outcome disparities.

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It was hoped that by freeing the nurses of the need to switch back and forth from administering care to filling out paperwork, they would be freed to engage in a more patient-centered approach—with the CTA taking up the slack on writing things out for them. 

The first-year results of the study showed that “staff responsiveness” and patient experience improved by 12 percent and lab turnaround time was reduced by 13 percent. Furthermore, 73 percent of nurses said they felt they were able to spend more time with each individual patient thanks to the presence of a CTA by their side.

AdventHealth first rolled out the program last year at the healthcare provider’s Central Florida division. The company hired CareThrough and sister company ScribeAmerica (both subdivisions of HealthChannels) to provide the CTAs to write down the patient information in AdventHealth’s emergency departments.

“We created this model to improve the way we work to make it easy for both our patients and staff,” Eric Stevens, the CEO of acute care services for AdventHealth in the Orlando region, said in a statement. “A hospital stay can be an unnerving experience. This program helps our nurses spend quality time with our patients and their families to focus on supporting them while they heal.”

“With the alarming rate of nurse burnout, compassion fatigue, and a workforce shortage predicted to last through 2030, supporting nurses has become a health care imperative,” Kyle Cooksey, CareThrough’s president, said in a statement. “AdventHealth is proactively creating a culture of engaged nurses. The pilot aligns with our mission to reduce burnout and strengthen patient care.”

AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division comprises 16 hospitals in six counties in and around Orlando. It also entails 30 CentraCare urgent care facilities as well as sports rehabilitation centers and imaging centers.

AdventHealth says it will expand the successful model to other units based on the success of the pilot program.

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