Balancing Comfort and Function

At 64 years old, Good Samaritan Hospital, in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, was due for a facelift. But cosmetic updates and new equipment weren’t enough to satisfy the hospital’s goals to create a naturally rejuvenating environment with all the amenities of a state-of-the-art healthcare facility.

Exterior. Rendering by BSA LifeStructures.

Instead, BSA LifeStructures created an innovative plan and design for a new $132 million, 359,000-sq.ft. Good Samaritan Regional Health Center replacement for St. Mary’s Good Samaritan, Inc.
Elements of the new hospital include:

• Separate entrances and reception areas for the hospital’s emergency patients, outpatients, and visitors, creating a calmer environment for patients that allows staff members to perform their jobs without distraction.
• A design that reflects soothing elements of nature, using an architectural features inspired by the prairie style aesthetic.
• “Green” building practices, including the use of materials and mechanical systems that promote energy conservation.
• Comfortable and accommodating work environments for caregivers.
• Private patient rooms that are flexible to accommodate patients’ and families’ particular needs.
• Infrastructure necessary to accommodate anticipated advances in medical technology and future growth.

The 146-bed hospital is expected to break ground this fall and be completed in 2011. It will replace the existing 218,125-sq.ft. Good Samaritan Hospital, which was built in 1944. The new facility also will include a 141,000-sq.ft. medical office building and an ambulatory surgery center to accommodate joint ventures with physicians.

BSA LifeStructures designed three entrances to the new hospital—one for visitors, one for emergency care, and a third for the outpatient center. Each entrance will have its own reception and waiting areas. Service corridors and elevators were carefully positioned to eliminate cross-traffic between these areas while still permitting essential interaction among care providers.

Outpatient lobby. Rendering by BSA LifeStructures and Maregatti Interiors.

Emergency department lobby. Rendering by BSA LifeStructures and Maregatti Interiors.

Inside and out, the facility incorporates sustainability, and—through colors, light, and materials—reflects a theme of the “art of nature.”

“We wanted to create a truly healing environment where patients and their families can feel at home—and not feel like they’re intruding on someone else,” Joseph Mynhier, AIA, ACHA, principal-in-charge at BSA LifeStructures. “By consolidating outpatient services and moving them to the front of the facility, we’ve improved accessibility for patients while improving efficiency for staff and physicians.”

Labor Delivery Postpartum Recovery Room. Rendering by BSA LifeStructures and Maregatti Interiors.

By incorporating colors, lights and materials that reflect nature, interior design firm Maregatti Interiors created a soothing hospital environment. The nature-inspired design continues throughout the hospital grounds, which feature abundant healing gardens and linear elements that communicate stability and a forward-looking vision.

In constructing the new hospital, the design team has made a strong commitment to following the Green Guide for Healthcare, to create a new facility that is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. The Guide is a voluntary, self-certifying best practices guide to support teams in incorporating sustainable elements into projects and can be used to facilitate the pursuit of LEED certification:

The design team chose roofing materials specifically to reflect light and heat away from the building, resulting in lower energy costs. A green roof system not only provides a serene view for patients but also improves thermal insulation, and most light fixtures use compact fluorescent or LED technology.

Patients will receive the benefit of all-private rooms, with dimmable lighting for additional comfort and energy savings. Each room has been wired to accommodate advances in medical technology as they become available. Flexibility is also evident in the emergency department, which includes areas that can accommodate both emergency care and observation.

Several design elements also will make the Good Samaritan Regional Health Center a comfortable place to work. Staff will have access to break areas specifically designed for their needs and workspaces designed around how they move and communicate with one another. To encourage staffers to bicycle to work, storage space and changing rooms will be available.

“We’re absolutely thrilled with plans for the new facility,” said Michael Warren, FACHE, vice president of clinical development, St. Mary’s Good Samaritan, Incorporated. “State-of-the-art amenities will provide utmost comfort to our patients and will allow our staff to do their jobs better than ever.”