As part of an multi-phased renovations of the Emergency Department, the hospital sought to transform the patient intake and evaluation process by creating an intake pod immediately adjacent to the walk-in entrance and patient greeting. The intake area provides team evaluations of patients from which patients proceed to testing, imaging, a treatment room or the Results Waiting Area.
The 16-chair Results Waiting area provides comfortable and private waiting for patients through the use of the Steelcase Brody seating pod. The first use of the Brody in a healthcare setting, the seating pod provides a comfortable area for patients to wait with privacy, storage, power and data for connectivity. Auxiliary seating provides additional locations for patients and families to wait as well. A small pod of 4 pods provides a quiet corner for pediatric patients.
The central charting area is adjacent to the Intake exam Area charting area providing staff to flex back and forth to both areas and the decorative windows provide both a touch of comfort for the patient while providing staff visualization to the patients from the intake corridor as well.
As a regional trauma center, Morristown’s existing Emergency Department had exceeded its capacity and required expansion to serve an increased volume of over 100,000 visits. The project developed a 4-phase expansion / renovation which started with a red zone building infill including the new ambulance entrance and canopy and 3 trauma bays with an adjacent imaging suite.
In total 75 private treatment rooms are provided in five separate zones along with new triage, waiting and intake area. The interiors were designed to provide a quiet and calming environment while providing maximum visibility and proximity of patients to staff.
Project Summary:
Morristown Medical Center sought to expand their campus to add facilities for a ‘Heart Hospital Addition’ including an OB Service expansion, Cancer Center Addition, Main Lobby Addition, and new Parking Garage growing space visitors and staff. Buckl Architects worked with the owner’s project team to develop the overall concept plan and detailed design establishing a new interior standard for hospital aesthetics and configuration creating a new standard in comfort and healing focused on family centered care. A calming environment was created increasing perceived privacy and reflecting the standard of high quality care and the upscale nature of the surrounding community.
‘Sam’s NICU’ was the first private-room NICU in New Jersey when it opened in 2009. A dedicated donor, hospital administration, and NICU staff were all committed to transforming the typical NICU ward to create a ‘family centered environment’ and to enhance the infant’s care by providing a quiet, warm atmosphere for families with comfortable, private rooms for singles, twins and triplets, leaving the noisy world of the open NICU ward behind!
The families enter the unit through the family lounge area, which provides a place of retreat and respite, to talk to other families, or for siblings to play! Staff charting stations are immediately outside the patient rooms and allow staff to visually monitor as many as four rooms from a single location, all within direct visual contact to the main nurse charting area.
The Caregiver’s Center is just the second of its kind in the northeast. The ‘center’ provides a place of relief and respite for family members and primary caregivers of patients being treated at the hospital. Staffed to support the caregivers themselves, the center provides a comfortable lounge, education and refreshment facilities, as well as a massage therapy and a family quiet room. The adjacent medical library staff also provides support for family members researching medical conditions and treatments.
Project Summary: A community accessible and patient friendly treatment facility for the diagnostic and therapeutic cancer care. The use of color and natural light lend to a feeling of serenity and ease the stress that come from the apprehensions of cancer treatment. Comfortable spaces for state of the art treatment and education are key to the success of the medical practice. The spaces were updated along with the addition of a new linear accelerator vault in 2013.
The hospital sought to consolidate 10 varied pediatric specialties within a single location in order to maximize patient convenience and staff/physician collaboration. The challenge was to create space that served such diverse practices yet provided flexible scheduling to maximize its use. The waiting area, which typifies the approach to the entire unit, is welcoming, bright and child-friendly.
Once registered, patients move to intake rooms on each wing prior to arriving at their exam/consult room. Colorful cut-outs around doors and light fixtures, along with a vibrant checker board floor pattern create a playful feel to the corridors and exam rooms. Their new space will allow these programs to grow, treating patients in a comfortable, fun environment which is vital for their healing and recovery.
Ready to open in March 2010, this project includes 4 distinct pediatric specialty units including eating disorders, the Valerie Center for oncology treatment, pediatric surgery and a multi-specialty clinic with distinct areas for neurology, cardiac, GI and general patient visits. The suites are designed to be able to flex up and down into each other for scheduling flexibility. The finishes were kept quite lively and fun to reflect the energy of the pediatric patients and to create a sense of fun and distraction for them as they ‘see the doctor’. The exam room style combines areas for exams and consults, and provides a comfortable banquette for family and sibling seating.
The former lobby to the hospital was ineffective for staff, completely hid the gift shop and presented a poor first image of the hospital. The renovation intended to create a great first impression to visitors, to locate the desk in a position to control visitors, to create improved wayfinding and to create an image of the hospital in keeping with their high standards of care. The upgraded finishes extend beyond the main lobby to several seating area, a donor recognition area, elevator lobbies, and to the adjacent radiology area which was also completely renovated.
Designed and constructed for a private physician group, the project developed a high-end look and feel with a granite and colored glass exterior, and a 4-story atrium with a multi-story water feature. The third floor includes and ambulatory surgery center complete with operating rooms with windows at the owners request, providing abundant natural light and views to the rolling hills surrounding the property.
