Baptist Health South Florida Country Walk Freestanding Emergency Department

Baptist Health South Florida has a new brand identity aimed at engaging younger generations, particularly Millennials. In this spirit, Baptist Health South Florida partnered with Gresham Smith to design the health system’s new generation of emergency care centers. The Country Walk Freestanding Emergency Department (FSED), initially designed as a prototype to support the new branding, presents a clean, sleek creation of simple lines and glass transparency.

18.6k

square feet

story with clerestory

1st

Baptist Health South Florida's first freestanding full-service emergency center in Miami-Dade County

A New Design for a New Generation

As a part of rebranding efforts, Baptist Health South Florida found that Millennials are looking for spaces that are classic yet modern, intuitive and address the desire for both social interaction and sophisticated technology. Gresham Smith worked with Baptist Health South Florida to strategically locate FSEDs around the main hospital; the Country Walk FSED is the first iteration of a new prototype facility that make care even more accessible, expanding the health system’s network.

Bright Ideas

Our design portrays the state-of-the-art care provided as well as enhances the experience for patients and staff. We focused on the idea of transparency incorporating glass and creating sightlines from the front to back of the facility. Using trellis structures and a projected canopy for patient drop-off as well as maximizing light creates an inviting environment. Not typically seen in institutional EDs, a clerestory in the center of the building helps bring in even more natural light to a core space that is traditionally artificially lit.

Making the Most of Space

Not only is this facility critical to establishing Baptist Health South Florida’s new brand, it also presented an opportunity to evaluate and design new processes focused on efficiency. Exam rooms feature Jack and Jill toilets as well as sliding glass doors that save space and add to the feeling of high design. Levels of acuity are organized from front to back while shared services and standardized rooms allow functions to flex based on demand.