By Tricia Schug

Architects working on the new Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital have been busy creating models of what the new space will look like when the new hospital is constructed. This is to helping providers at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital visualize their new work spaces.

Over the past several months, patient care teams have toured these rooms, scrutinizing every detail to help architects finalize the design for optimal workflow and patient care. Staff members have examined details, such as whether a wheelchair has enough space to turn around, if outlets and equipment are rightly placed, if storage space is adequate and more.

“Our patient care teams have been very involved in helping design the new hospital, which has been great, because their perspectives and insights are critical to building the most efficient, safe, patient-centered facility,” said David Bigelow, CEO at SPCH.

“Fortunately, we are at the point where we are receiving only minor, nuanced changes to the design rather than major problems,” said Jason Brown, Senior Pre-Construction Manager with the Neenan Company, the architect firm leading SPCH’s project. “Mostly, people have been very positive about the design and the amount of space they will be getting in the new hospital.”

After a design is tweaked, the cardboard models allow staff to walk through actual rooms and visualize whether or not their ideas will translate into efficiency and safety. During a recent “mock-up week,” 64 employees toured the rooms to offer feedback. Models will continue to be used in the weeks ahead as the design phase of SPCH’s new, three-story hospital wraps up, hopefully, by mid-April. Construction is expected to begin late May or early June.