Healthcare Design - April 2015 - 48

F FIRST LOOK | 04.15
Natural resource
A modernization project at Eastern
Maine Medical Center adds a patient
tower to support new care technology
and answer growing demand for
services By Jennifer Kovacs Silvis

telemetry rooms, and 24 critical care rooms-feature
rooming-in accommodations for families as well as
added touches, like free WiFi.
The addition also allows EMMC to up its medical
services, including its labor and delivery offerings
and cardiac care via a new consolidated heart
center that houses nuclear medicine, noninvasive
cardiology, and invasive labs.
Of the facility's 14 ORs, two will be hybrid, with
pre-op and PACU spaces as well as the sterile
processing department all designed to carefully
orchestrate the workflow of surgeons as well as
the movement of supplies and instruments through
the space. The new ORs are also connected to
EMMC's existing ambulatory surgery center to create a comprehensive care environment.
A Center for Health Design Pebble Project,
the EMMC tower uses evidence-based design
hallmarks, such as natural daylighting, decentralized
nurses' stations, and patient lifts. It's scheduled to
open in 2017. HCD

Above: The Eastern
Maine Medical Center
campus is located on
the Penobscot River, and
the new tower's brick
and glass exteriors were
designed to be mindful of
the existing infrastructure
and take advantage of
scenic river views. Below:
Inside, natural stone and
plantings are used to echo
the Maine landscape and
establish a warm, welcoming environment.
MORE ONLINE
To view more renderings
of the Eastern Maine
Medical Center project,
visit HCDmagazine.com/
first-look-emmc.

Do you have a new project to share? Email Jennifer Kovacs Silvis at jennifer.silvis@emeraldexpo.com for details on how to contribute a First Look.
48

HCDmagazine.com 04.15

MORRISSWITZER ENVIRONMENTS FOR HEALTH

In a move to answer patient needs today and brace
for the future of healthcare delivery tomorrow,
Eastern Maine Health System is modernizing via a
361,000-square-foot patient tower addition to its
Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC).
Located in Bangor, Maine, on a campus overlooking
nearby Penobscot River, the project was designed by
MorrisSwitzer Environments for Health (Burlington, Vt.)
and is being built by the joint venture team of Cianbro
Corp. (Pittsfield, Maine) and Brasfield & Gorrie (Birmingham, Ala.). Catching those scenic views was a goal
that helped shape the exterior design of the new tower,
which incorporates plenty of glass that's complemented by brick in a nod to the existing building vernacular.
With construction scheduled in phases to allow the
hospital to remain fully functional throughout the work,
the end result aspires to allow EMMC to adapt to
emerging technology and modern procedures all while
accommodating growing demand within its limited
footprint.
For example, the tower includes two floors of
private patient rooms designed for acuity adaptability
to flex as needed. The rooms-along with the tower's
29 NICU rooms, 25 postpartum rooms, 32 inpatient

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Healthcare Design - April 2015

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