AdventHealth Waterman’s cloverleaf building footprint and canvased canopy entrance are iconic to the hospital. To create a cohesive campus, we continued the strong architectural features on the addition and included another striking canopy while still maintaining critical hurricane wind load requirements. To connect the addition to the existing hospital, our team had to construct a basement-level tunnel adjacent to the functioning emergency department. Above ground, a new corridor joins the main hospital entrance and emergency department entrance, easing wayfinding for patients.
The new tower provides the increased capacity the hospital needs in order to better serve the growing community, expanding the hospital from 269 beds to 287. In patient rooms, convertible sleeper sofas offer family members and guests a space for working or resting. The pediatric exam and patient rooms incorporate an “under the sea” theme to comfort young patients.
Modular furniture at nurse stations and within the emergency department’s standardized exam rooms create flexibility for the future, while connecting doors between post-partum rooms create enhance adaptability as rooms can be offered to family members depending on capacity. Additionally, the fourth floor is shelled for future vertical expansion with structural support for two additional future floors. A “results pending” lounge for low acuity patients frees up valuable exam room space and physician workspaces at nurse stations, instead of traditional physician offices, create additional space for patient care.
The design team strategically located the fourth-floor rehabilitation unit where it would have the best view of the campus’ lake. A vibrant color palette infuses energy throughout the space and recessed benches in the corridors act as points of respite for patients. Patients and family members have access to a full-size kitchen and dining area, which provides a sense of “home” and can be therapeutic for all.
The renovated pharmacy is designed around the United States Pharmacopeial Convention’s (USP) General Chapter <800>, a 2019 standard for safely handling hazardous drugs to minimize the risk of exposure to healthcare personnel, patients and the environment. The space includes separate, dedicated hazardous and non-hazardous storage, as well as hazardous and non-hazardous sterile compounding rooms.