Golisano Children’s Hospital Design Completed

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Fort Myers office of Harvard Jolly Architecture partnered with Houston-based FKP Architects to design the new 160-bed Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida (GCHSWF), which is scheduled to open in April 2017 in Fort Myers.

The $250 million children’s hospital will consolidate the medical and ancillary specialty services into one location to treat critically ill or injured children in the five-county region. The almost 300,000-square-foot, eight-story facility will be located at HealthPark Florida, a 400-acre medical campus. The campus is anchored by HealthPark Medical Center, home to the current Golisano Children’s Hospital and part of Lee Memorial Health System.

A major reason for the new facility is the increase of admissions at the current children’s hospital at Lee Memorial Health System between 2004 and 2010. The health system is often at capacity, and the nearest children’s hospital is more than 100 miles away.

Planning of the design concept started in September 2012, as FKP met with Lee Memorial Health System staff to understand the goals of the project. According to an FKP press statement, three main goals were initiated to:

• Establish GCHSWF as the area’s leading pediatric health care facility.
• Empower GCHSWF patients and their families and caregivers with inspirations, hope and healing.
• Provide a welcoming facility that is integrated with gulf coast environment, adaptive to technology and flexible for evolving health care delivery.

The design incorporates the local area by using curved architectural accents that mimic the waves of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as features extensive glass to showcase the building’s natural surroundings. The interiors are designed with warm colors reflective of the sun, surf and sand.

With the initial planning and design process completed, construction is scheduled to begin in April 2014. A philanthropic campaign is underway to raise private donations of more than $100 million; $80 million has already been raised toward the goal. Lee Memorial Health System will finance the remainder of the required expenses.