Environments for Aging - Spring 2018 - 51

achieve. Their vision was organized into "Five
Centers of Excellence" (key service areas for
the project, including hospice, education and
resources, spiritual services, child and bereavement counseling, and outdoor reflection).
This goal served as a compass for the team
while we worked through the design process,
from the initial sketches of the building to
the finishing details. Initially, the team toured
numerous hospice facilities across the country
and feedback was gathered. Additionally,
PC&S, through its Faith Hospice program, has
a long history in the community of providing home hospice services, so we received
continual feedback from the staff who work in
the hospice environment daily. This research
guided the design team to ensure we weren't
only designing a beautiful environment, but
also creating a fully functional building for the
patients, staff, family, and friends.
Why did providing access to nature
become such a critical piece of the
project and how did the project team
work together to ensure that it was
executed as desired?

DAVID TONNES (PANAVIZ)

Peters: The connection to nature was a goal
from the beginning; however, it was more
challenging to obtain here because the project
site is located in an urban setting surrounded
by office buildings and multifamily communities. Connecting with the surrounding nature
creates environments that are therapeutic,
provides restorative benefits, and reduces
stress and anxiety, which is beneficial for patients, families, and staff. We wanted to allow
patients the opportunity to see and experience
nature from their beds, so all patient rooms
are located with a clear view of the pond, and
extra-wide patios and double French doors
were designed so the bed could be easily
rolled onto the patio. The landscape architect
(Mesa Design Group) played a crucial role on
the design team and participated in all the
conceptual planning meetings and throughout

the design process to ensure we were designing a cohesive campus from the exterior to the
interior.
As you referenced earlier, this is a large
project that includes more than just the
inpatient hospice, with an education
center, reflection center, spiritual center,
and bereavement center, as well. How
did you approach the site and operational programming to ensure appropriate flows, privacy, etc.?
Kathryn Busch: The site had many challenges: multiple access points, significant
grade changes, and a property association
with rights to the pond. A connection to the
pond for patients, family, visitors, and staff was
a design goal set by the team. We created a

hierarchy of public, semi-private, and private
space. The existing walking path around the
pond was maintained and remains public,
as required by the association. The stepped
retaining walls helped create a semi-private
zone with the amphitheater and labyrinth
accessible from the inpatient care center and
educational resource center. Another series of
retaining walls created a private zone accessible only from the patient rooms. Keeping the
dignity of the patient in mind at all times, there
are several public or private options for the
arrival and departure sequences.
For more on this project, see page 84. EFA
Jennifer Kovacs Silvis is editor-in-chief of Environments for Aging. She can be reached at jennifer.
silvis@emeraldexpo.com.

Top: The spiritual care center is designed to support
people of all faiths and is open 24/7 for reflection
and funeral services. Right: The preferred planning
solution for the site was to separate facilities for
inpatient care, education, and bereavement, allowing
necessary distinction between functions such as care
delivery and grief counseling.
Spring 2018 * EFAmagazine.com

http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Spring 2018

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