Saint Agnes Hospital, based in Baltimore, converted the center, formerly a Room Store, into a 38,000-square-foot patient-centered medical home (PCMH). Designed by RTKL of Washington, D.C., the PCMH has a focus on on preventative health care, increased access to primary care physicians and greater coordination of care. Designers expect the PCMH will set a new standard for managing and improving health outcomes for the city and surrounding areas of Baltimore.

Federal and Maryland state health reforms, including recent changes to the Medicare Waiver, encourage adoption of the PCMH model, which should help lower hospital admissions, reduce the need for hospital readmission after discharge, improve health outcomes and increase overall patient satisfaction.

Under the traditional model, there is little coordination of care outside of the primary care practice, leading to delays and unnecessary costs. At Saint Agnes’ new facility the entire process is streamlined to improve patient privacy and decrease wait times. In addition, a care coordinator may assist with everything from check-in paperwork to booking referrals, all examinations are done in the same room and the patient’s privacy-protected electronic medical record follows them through every level of care.

“Given our experience in large, urban centers, 40 West Plaza embodies a sustainable and operationally-efficient medical center that not only supports an improved patient experience but serves as a new, transformative retail property anchor for the community,” said Eric Dingest, senior associate vice president for RTKL in a statement. “RTKL is honored to have had the opportunity to partner alongside Saint Agnes Hospital to bring a true game-changer to the industry and city of Baltimore.”

The facility is designed as a series of flexible clinical modules to improve patient privacy and decrease wait times. With 20 primary care providers, the multi-specialty facility will house a variety of medical services, including imaging, laboratory and physical therapy. The new facility will also have designated rooms for patient education on topics such as diabetes, weight management and heart health.

A significant step toward value-based care and making that care more easily accessible to people living in Baltimore and Howard County, 40 West Plaza aims to make health care more convenient by offering same-day appointments, pharmacy services, walk-in diagnostic imaging services, decreased wait times, extended hours and weekend care. Additionally, the new facility will utilize electronic medical records (EMR) through every level of patient care.

The facility will allow Saint Agnes to increase access to patients, expand new service lines beyond the main campus, ensuring a lasting impact on the community.

In partnership with RTKL, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company of Greenwood Village, Colo., provided a full scope of construction services.

“This new expansion underscores Saint Agnes’ commitment to person-centered healthcare. For nearly five years Saint Agnes has been dedicated to developing a multi-specialty ambulatory center. The new facility is a key part of Saint Agnes’ growth projection and will support the hospital’s desire to expand beyond the main campus and become more physically rooted in the community,” said William Greskovich, vice president of operations and capital projects at the hospital, in a statement.

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The $200 million facility welcomed patients on Oct. 1 as the first hospital to be built in the county in more than 35 years. The hospital is also the first in the country to be built on a community college campus and is the core of Montgomery College’s Hercules Pinkney Life Sciences Park.

Designed by Chicago-based SmithGroupJJR, the 237,000-square-foot, 93-bed hospital offers medical, surgical, obstetric and emergency services, and psychiatric care. The facility features a full-service emergency department with an adjacent observation unit; patient units for cancer care, dialysis and inpatient rehabilitation; a 15-bed ICU; two 30-bed inpatient units; and a behavioral health unit. There is a range of specialties for surgical services as well as full-service operating rooms and rooms for endoscopy and interventional radiology. Comprehensive maternity services are provided through labor and delivery rooms, cesarean surgical suites, private postpartum rooms and an eight-bed neonatal care unit.

The new hospital was designed to help with the challenges of health care delivery, according to a press statement from SmithGroupJJR. All of the hospital’s private patient rooms and staff zones were designed for operational efficiency as well as for the comfort and independence of patients and their families. Large windows provide daylight in-patient, staff and public areas, and decentralized nursing alcoves. Visitor seating bays are located along the public concourses, which helps simplify way-finding.

Applying evidence-based design methods, the objective for SmithGroupJJR’s designers was to create a healing, patient-centered environment. Features include a healing garden, landscaped roofs and soothing interior finishes.

“Our ability to meet our mission has been greatly enhanced by innovative design and attention to the details of providing care to those in need,” said Holy Cross Health President and CEO Kevin J. Sexton in a statement.

“Not only is the new hospital beautiful, but it features the latest platforms and innovations in health care delivery and architecture, including advanced medical technologies and interventional platforms for patient-focused care,” added William Kline, AIA, LEED AP, EDAC, who served as the principal-in-charge on the project, in a statement.

The hospital was constructed by Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. Syska Hennessy Group, headquartered in New York, served as the prime MEP engineer alongside sub consultant partner, Eldridge, Md.-based Leach Wallace Associates.

The hospital, which serves nearly 200,000 patients each year, is seeking a LEED Silver rating.

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