Albert Einstein Healthcare Breaks Ground on New Regional Medical Center

Albert Einstein Healthcare Network recently broke ground on a new regional medical center, based in Philadelphia, Pa. The center was designed by Perkins+Will.

The first new greenfield hospital in the region in 10 years, Einstein establishes a dramatic new regional presence for a large urban healthcare network based in Philadelphia. Einstein’s new inpatient facility is emblematic of a growing trend in healthcare facilities, shaped by user input and designed to optimize patient-centered care while maintaining an environmentally sensitive approach to site and landscape design.

The design is inspired by two primary influences:  the beauty of the surrounding landscape and the hospital’s goal to provide state of the art healthcare.  The design approach synthesizes these two influences into a single vision that is both sensitive to the context and expressive of the advanced technology of modern medicine.

Unique design aspects of the new hospital include:

• Patient-centered care: As much as possible, services are decentralized and treatment is deployed at the bedside, including in pre-procedure areas and emergency exam rooms, and information is provided so that patients gain control over their experience. Patient movement is minimized, and daylight is brought into many of the treatment areas. 
• User group input: One of the most common planning challenges in a new hospital is the design of the patient bedroom. Early in concept design, an integrated team of hospital clinicians and administrators, along with the design team, worked together to create an ideal patient room which provides an efficient work environment for staff and a comfortable, secure healing environment for the patient. The harmony created by maximizing clear floor space, views to the exterior and access for staff is like no other yet experienced in the Philadelphia Area. 
• Interventional platform: hospital also includes an integrated interventional platform, co-locating surgical operating rooms, interventional radiology treatment rooms and cath labs within the same suite along with shared pre and post-treatment spaces. The consolidation of surgical and interventional intake and recovery spaces not only eliminates a duplication of services, but also improves patient flow. This concept is a growing trend for larger academic hospitals, but still unique among regional and community medical centers.

Sustainable features of the new hospital include:

• The hospital’s site work and landscaping is designed to help control and treat excess storm-water runoff with rain gardens within its boundaries.
• Building orientation optimizes annual solar gain, which in turn minimizes supplemental heating and reduces reliance on air conditioning. The curtain wall at the five-story Atrium is sloped to provide self-shading from the summer sun and high performance, low-e glazing and window shading devices reduce heat loads. Interior systems include highly efficient water fixtures and properly installed and balanced mechanical systems, coordinated to reduce the number of access points, streamlining long term maintenance over time.