GS&P Designs for New Holistic Community Health Model

January 9, 2018

Gresham, Smith and Partners is pleased to announce that is has won a contract to design healthcare buildings for UF Health as part of the planned Wildlight community in Nassau County. GS&P will design the ambulatory services hub as well as the co-branded UF Health and YMCA wellness center. The architecture and its expression will support holistic community health, embrace Florida’s “Lowcountry” culture, and reflect UF Health’s advanced, quality care. 

When residential developer Raydient Places + Properties envisioned the Wildlight community, they endeavored to create a community that promotes healthier living for its residents. As a result, they chose to bring in healthcare partner UF Health during the early stages of development. Serving as a model for healthier communities in Nassau County, the planned health and fitness facilities are supported by the full resources of the University of Florida. The program includes early childhood development, nutritional programs, urban gardens, and community health data management.

“Our design for the Wildlight community ambulatory hub and health and wellness buildings will help create a strong sense of place as well as embody and facilitate UF Health and Raydient Places + Properties goals for a healthy community,” said Rick Bouchereau, AIA, LEEP AP, principal, Gresham, Smith and Partners. “Our human-centric, consumerist facilities will create a positive, nurturing and caring environment.”

GS&P’s design for the ambulatory services hub features two connecting buildings that will house urgent care, diagnostic imaging services, primary care, pediatrics, OB/GYN, behavioral health and dentistry. A garden for play and fitness activities will connect the two structures. Walking paths will surround the ambulatory hub site.

UF Health and the YMCA are developing a combined 40,000-square-foot health and wellness center. Services will range from fitness to lifestyle coaching to complementary medicines. UF Health medical practices will include physical therapy, orthopedics, sports medicine, cardiac rehabilitation and community health coordination. UF Health will also house its community health initiatives such as early childhood development, child household safety, bicycle safety programs, smart parks and suburban gardening.

GS&P and UF Health worked together to plan and customize the facilities to best support the community’s needs. The design team also worked with UF Health to build project goals around GS&P’s healthcare design framework, Value-Added Design; a dynamic, holistic framework in which teams explore and define what is important to clients, with a focus on key performance indicators: patient safety; operational efficiencies; integration of technology; adaptability/resiliency; healthy, sustainable buildings; and human experience through evidence-based design.

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