STAMFORD, Conn. — Recently, Stamford Hospital executives, city officials, community and board members, employees and medical staff celebrated the groundbreaking for a new hospital expansion designed by WHR Architects. Brian G. Grissler, hospital president and CEO said, “Today is a major milestone in a plan that has been many years in the making.” WHR has worked closely with the hospital during those years on the planning and design of a facility that creates a new model of care.
Michael Pavia, the mayor of Stamford, summed up the impact of the new hospital on the community saying, “This is another great day for the city of Stamford. Breaking ground for the new Stamford Hospital is going to be a record-setting event, a monumental event, an event that sets the tenor and pace for what we’re expecting Stamford to be in the future.”
Stamford Hospital’s main campus is a collection of buildings, some dating back to the turn of the last century. The campus and buildings must evolve to meet the changing needs of today’s patient-centered, efficient and technologically advanced medicine. This means replacing outdated buildings with a facility that can accommodate and adapt to the very latest in medical technology, while delivering care in a humane, patient-centered environment.
“Having worked with the administrators and clinical staff at Stamford Hospital for over a decade on a series of master plans, renovations and expansions, we have seen firsthand their commitment to the best in personal care that demystifies the healthcare experience,” said Charles Cadenhead, FAIA, WHR’s principal-in-charge and lead medical planner for the new hospital. “The hospital took the time to study healthcare challenges, seek out the best examples and plan for a future filled with advances in medicine while being sensitive to the needs of patients and their families, as well as doctors and clinical staff.”
“As a partner in the Plantree organization, the design of the new facility reflects the philosophy that places a priority on providing the highest levels of patient and family care,” Tushar Gupta, AIA, the project designer observed. “Stamford recognizes the interdependence between an efficient, healthful environment and the wellbeing of people and the facility embodies those principles at every level of design — from clinical space to patient rooms to the way that the new building is connected to its community context. This includes the use of natural light and a building design more closely integrating the facilities with nature, along with more effective noise control and wayfinding.”
“It will be a significant transformation from the current traditional and institutional feel to a more calming, welcoming environment,” added David Kamp, FASLA, of Dirtworks Landscape Architecture.
The new, 11-story, 636,247-square-foot Stamford Hospital, which will be constructed in a single-phase at an estimated $450 million, is scheduled for completion in 2016. Key features include:
- Patient care units with all private rooms and private bathrooms, as well as centralized nurses’ stations for more flexible care delivery and dedicated family spaces on each floor.
- An emergency department with separate treatment areas for trauma, cardiac, urgent, behavioral health and pediatric patients, more than doubling the number and size of exam rooms. In addition, there will be dedicated and easily accessible parking, along with individual points of entry for walk-in and ambulance arrivals.
- Significantly larger surgical suites to accommodate the latest technology.
- A new pediatric unit in the Whittingham Pavilion adjacent to the current neonatal intensive care unit to centralize mother-child services.
- An expansion of the intensive care unit emphasizing the hospital’s commitment to critical care and tertiary services.
- A central location for all Heart & Vascular Institute services, including electrophysiology, catheterization and interventional labs.
The team includes: Skanska USA Building, contractor; Bard, Rao & Athanas Consulting Engineers, PC, MEP engineer; Walter P. Moore, structural engineer; Dirtworks, PC, landscape architects.
