Two Hospitals Receive ACHA Award at National Conference

The American College of Healthcare Architects presented Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Griffin Hospital with the 2014 Legacy Project Awards. These inaugural awards were presented at the International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction on March 18, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

In an effort to expand the knowledge of healthcare architecture and to honor those projects whose original innovation was sustained through time, the ACHA developed the Legacy Project Award program. This is the first award that celebrates ideas that continue to endure through a healthcare project’s life. The Legacy Project Award honors a place of healing and was the result of the rich exchange of planning and design concepts by qualified master-builder architects engaged by enlightened clients who believed that innovation is first an attitude.

A tour of the finalists revealed that Griffin Hospital, located in Derby, Conn., was ahead of its time and, as a result, there have been virtually no changes to the physical plant (north wing).  However, the project submitted was not just about the north wing, but also a holistic look at all renovations, which maintain a consistency throughout the complex with materials and colors. There are no “haves” and “have nots.” The hospital pioneered many innovative concepts in design and operation that have become commonplace in today’s hospitals with emphasis on the family.

Jurors concluded that Darthmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, located in Lebanon, N.H., influenced behaviors of the disparate parts of the enterprise and facilitated an integration of medical school, hospital, clinic and the co-located Veteran’s Administration. In the first 10 years, the center experienced a 65 percent increase in surgical cases. Admissions also increased by 40 percent in response to the demographics and the building. During this same period, the national statistics had declined. Its success may be attributed to the executive leadership’s philosophy that facilities support the culture of patient focus, not merely capture market share.

William H. Karanian, AIA, ACHA, a principal with The S/L/A/M Collaborative, Inc., nominated Griffin Hospital and is the architect of record. Patrick Charmel is Griffin’s president and CEO.

Jennifer Aliber, AIA, ACHA, of Shepley Bulfinch, nominated Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for the Legacy Project Award. W. Mason Smith, III is the architect of record, and James N. Weinstein, D.O., M.S., is its CEO and president.

For more information on the Legacy Project Award, visit www.healtharchitects.org.