MU Health Care Debuts Largest Expansion Ever

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The largest expansion ever for the University of Missouri Health Care (MU Health Care) was completed at University Hospital in Columbia. The $190 million, 310,500-square-foot addition creates a new patient care tower and replacement facility for Ellis Fischel Cancer Center — the oldest cancer center west of the Mississippi River.

The eight-story tower, located on the northeast side of the existing hospital, is designed to support patient- and family-centered care and is seeking LEED Silver Certification.

“As Missouri’s premier public higher education institution, part of our mission is to deliver health care services to the people of the state,” said University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe in a statement. “With this project, we help ensure world-class care to Missourians well into the future.”

HOK, with offices in St. Louis, was the architect on the project, and JE Dunn Construction Co., located in Kansas City, Mo., served as the construction manager.

The expansion allows for advanced translational research and education, and provides flexibility for growth of the university’s health science campus. It includes 90 private rooms with ‘smart room’ technology that wirelessly integrates medical devices into electronic medical record keeping. There is also a 7,000-square-foot inpatient pharmacy with robotics that automatically dispense medication; six operating rooms, with enough space to add six additional rooms; 25 pre-procedure rooms and 19 post-procedure ones; and a nearly 1,800-square-foot lounge for patients’ families.

The tower also integrates the new Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, which allows for inpatient and outpatient care from a single location and a more efficient use of valuable resources. The 100,000-square-foot center covers two floors and features two linear accelerators, space for two magnetic resonance imaging rooms, a PET-CT scanner, a CT scanner and 66 clinic examination rooms.

HOK designed the addition to provide patients with healing elements, such as the 3,150-square-foot healing garden. HOK created the space to optimize sunlight by using research from the company’s light study that measured seasonal sunlight in the garden for all times of the day and determined where to place seasonal plants and sitting areas. Three roof gardens, including one that covers linear accelerators used for chemotherapy, also provide a positive distraction for patients.

“The design team delivered a creative approach to enhancing wellness and healing,
said Dr. Paul Dale, interim medical director of the cancer center, in a statement. “The green features are outstanding in bringing the outside to the inside through the openness of the design that maximizes the use of natural light. The healing garden is a central focus of wellness and enhances one of the most beautiful patient care environments.”

The patient tower incorporates a lot of glass, which adds a lighter, more contemporary design element to the campus, while still integrating brick into the new facility. Native Missouri stone was used in the cancer center, paying tribute to its history.

While these green elements enhance daylighting and give patients access to the outside, the project team also incorporated sustainable design by using stonework from a demolished building on campus. Other green elements include efficient water fixtures, low VOC-emitting finish materials, high-efficiency glass and a rain screen exterior wall system.