Sanford Releases Floor-by-Floor Plan for New Medical Center

FARGO, N.D. — Sanford Health is announcing what each floor will house at its new medical center once open in 2017. The 11-story, $494-million medical center under construction along I-94 and Veteran’s Boulevard is ‘X’-shaped to ensure every patient room has a view.

• The concourse, or the lower level, will serve as the employee entrance. It will also house a food prep area, facility services and employee amenities including lockers and an employee lounge.
• The first floor is the main entrance for patients and visitors. It will have three, unique restaurants, X-ray services and the emergency center. The main entrance faces (south) 23rd Avenue, with plenty of windows and natural light, convenient parking and valet parking options for patients and visitors.
• The second and third floors will have 16 operating rooms (with 10 rooms shelled for future use), eight heart procedure rooms, a day unit (for medical surgical procedures not requiring an overnight stay), post-anesthesia care unit and clinic exam rooms and a lab.
• The fourth floor is a mechanical area and will not have public access. The helicopter landing area will be above the emergency center connected to the fourth floor on the north side of the building. “We strategically positioned the operating rooms on third floor since the helicopter landing will be on the fourth floor providing immediate access,” said Paul Richard, Sanford Medical Center Fargo president. “We will sound proof to reduce the noise levels of the helicopters, and we also have a team dedicated to ensuring we address exhaust emissions,” he added.
• Fifth and sixth floors will include medical and surgical areas, intensive care, dialysis and other services.
• The entire seventh floor will be shelled, meaning it won’t be completed but is available for future expansion as needed. “As our community grows, we want to ensure we have the space to grow with it. This isn’t just a medical center for present day; it’s about the future of our region, and 100 years from now, it will still be here,” said Richard.
• The eighth floor will have more inpatient beds, therapy space and shelled space for future growth.
• Sanford Children’s Hospital will be on the ninth floor with hospital beds, the pediatric intensive care unit, the neonatal intensive care unit and the Cully’s Kids Cabin playroom space.
• The Sanford Family Birth Center will be housed on the tenth floor including triage rooms, labor and delivery rooms, as well as patient and operating rooms.
• Another unique feature of the new facility is the elevator system. The elevators are all located at the middle of the building for ease of access and wayfinding. Four elevators will be designated for the public and seven will be utilized for transporting patients, food and medications.

HKS, Inc. and JLG Architects are serving as the architect/designer. Mortenson and Nor-Son Construction are the construction managers. The new Sanford medical center project remains on budget and on schedule to begin serving patients in 2017.