“GS&P has a great deal of experience in designing emergency departments – freestanding and traditional – across the country,” commented Paul Braun, AIA, EDAC, principal-in-charge for both projects. “We strive to provide ED design solutions that successfully address specific operational needs and objectives, as well as long-term, “big picture” planning goals. We understand the importance of moving patients quickly from triage to successful treatment, so our designs facilitate more efficient patient care, staff access and privacy in order to achieve those goals. As a result, both Martha Jefferson Hospital and Wesley Long Hospital are well-positioned as healthcare leaders in their respective communities and prepared for future growth.”
For Martha Jefferson Hospital, GS&P’s design called for the renovation and expansion of the existing ambulatory care center. The new Outpatient Care Center includes a freestanding emergency department, imaging center, diagnostic/laboratory services and physician offices for the Forest Lakes Family Practice. The facility features a cheerful color palette and comfortable, home-like architectural features that steer away from the institutional atmosphere of traditional EDs. The operationally efficient layout facilitates the safe treatment of patients within the emergency department and supports the improved function of imaging and diagnostic services.
For Wesley Long Hospital, GS&P’s design work centered on the replacement and expansion of its existing emergency department. The new facility includes nine triage spaces that will also be used for fast-track care, 25 ED treatment spaces, two-bay resuscitation rooms and an eight-bay patient holding area. It also includes a separate behavioral health ED. The previous ED will be converted to a 30-bed short-stay unit (for surgical preparation and recovery). The new regular ED rooms and behavioral health ED rooms double the size of the existing treatment space. To address circulation and access issues, GS&P moved the ED from one side of the hospital to the other and redirected road traffic to a new ED entrance. Internal circulation between ED areas was also improved, and a public connector from the ED waiting area to the main hospital lobby was added.
