A new critical care tower is underway at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The project team includes Gresham Smith and McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture; a general contractor has not been selected yet.
The tower, which is the second phase of Novant Health’s comprehensive capital investment at Forsyth Medical Center, will improve access for patients in the surrounding community and provide expert care in an optimally designed space that prioritizes the patient experience and promotes healing.
The five-story, 193,480-square-foot addition will complement the existing hospital’s exterior with brick, glass and metal panels. Inside the entrance, the main lobby will feature floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the waiting area with natural light, while the furniture and finishes will take cues from the local community’s gardens and parks.
The first floor will house an expanded pre- and postoperative space, enhanced operating rooms and support spaces, while the second, third and fourth floors will house a combined 36 medical-surgical beds and 60 critical care beds. The standardized patient rooms will be larger than existing rooms on the campus to provide additional flexibility, enabling the rooms to be converted to intensive care or isolation rooms to handle higher-complexity care. A centralized nurse station on each patient floor will create operational efficiencies, while smaller decentralized work niches outside patient rooms will enhance patient care and support increased bedside nursing time.
The new critical care tower is projected to open in late 2024.
