How do you Design and Build a Regional Hospital?

Before the architects can draw up floor plans, before rooms can take shape, many behind-the-scenes design steps go into planning a $312 million, 600,000-square-foot regional hospital.

First, we asked some basic questions — What health care services will be housed in the hospital and how many people will use them ? — to get a sense of the building size we needed.

Next, we had to determine how these programs would fit into the building and how floors would “stack” up — making sure to leave open spaces for courtyards and other features.

Other questions followed:

• How will the furniture and medical equipment fit into the space?
  
• How will outside gardens and pastoral spaces relate to the interior space? How, for example, will rehab patients access the gardens that are part of their healing program?
  
• How will patients and visitors be drawn into the building — visually and conveniently — and how will they easily navigate through the space once inside?
  
• What materials will be chosen for the building’s “green” design and can they be purchased locally?
  
  

Key and constant in all these steps is ensuring the evolving design meets the overall project budget.

It’s a constant exercise of adjusting and redrafting before the design is finalized. And it involves hundreds of employees, architects and contractors.

In the end what emerges will be a hospital that will serve the people of the Kennebec Valley for generations to come.

Here are the floor plans to date showing where services will be located. As they are further refined, we will post updated plans.

Click on the images below to view locations of specific departments.

Terrace Level

Offering access to outside healing and ornamental gardens, the New Regional Hospital’s Terrace Level features Inpatient Rehabilitation and other highlights, including:

• Community Education area
• Pharmacy
• Support Services such as housekeeping, dietary and others

Level One

Located on the hospital’s Level One is a 24/7 Emergency Department, MGMC Express Care and other areas including:

• Cafeteria
• Cardiology
• Critical Care Unit
• Private Patient Rooms
• Dialysis
• Imaging (X-ray) Services
• Lab
• Gift Shop
• Outpatient Services and Clinic
• Patient Registration

Level Two

Surgery/Interventional Procedure/ space, Surgical Prep and Recovery, private patient rooms and Anesthesia occupy Level Two, as well as:

• Cardiac Catheterization Lab
• Community Education area
• Gastroenterology
• Inpatient Women’s Services
• Maternal Child Health private rooms
• PACU (Peri-Anesthesia Care Unit)
• OB/GYN physician office

Level Three

Level Three is dedicated to an Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit, more private patient rooms, Orthopedics and other services including:

• Acute Therapy (physical, occupational & speech)
• Physician Office Space
• Support Services