Construction Commences on New 361,000SF Building for Eastern Maine Medical Center

Eastern Maine Medical Center recently broke ground on a 361,000-square-foot heart vascular center, surgical and inpatient building in Bangor, Maine. This $247-million modernization project was designed by MorrisSwitzer~Environments for Health. It utilizes Evidence-Based Design in its approach to patient-centered care and is a Center for Health Design Pebble Project member. The project will provide a 29 single-bassinet neonatal intensive care unit, six labor and delivery rooms with 25 postpartum rooms, 32 inpatient telemetry rooms, a 24-bed critical care unit and 14 operating rooms. The new surgical center will connect with the existing outpatient ORs to create a single surgical department.

Deborah Carey Johnson, RN, EMMC president and CEO says the project will create a better environment to care for patients with very serious illnesses and injuries.

The project design included input from the community and caregivers with a special focus on creating an efficient and sustainable environment. Emphasis was placed on durability and ease of maintenance, as well as infection control and the comfort of patients and staff. MorrisSwitzer’s architects led a collaborative planning process with EMMC; the resulting design benefits the highly skilled staff of EMMC and supports its ability to provide first-class care to the region.

The construction manager for this major new facility is a partnership between Maine-based Cianbro and Brasfield & Gorrie from Alabama. The design team led by MorrisSwitzer~Environments for Health includes engineering services from BVH Integrated Services for structural and MEP/FP, and Wright-Pierce for civil engineering.

Because the new inpatient tower will be located in front of the current hospital entrance, the construction and design of the project has been carefully planned to re-route hospital traffic during the construction phase. The project is scheduled for completion in 2016.