HGA

Part of a long-range, multi-phase master plan, Owensboro Medical Health Center accommodates streamlined processes, new technology and future growth on a 145-acre campus. The 780,000-square-foot replacement hospital includes a 447-bed inpatient Bed Tower, three-story Diagnostic & Treatment Building, Emergency Department, Women's Center, Heart Center, and Outpatient Diagnostics Center.

The design emphasizes locally harvested natural materials to create a warm, healing environment that is welcoming for the diverse patient population. The hospital additionally introduces several technological innovations that promote efficiency and safety, including registration kiosks, wireless staff communication, electronic medical records, patient education network, and computerized physician order entry.

industrial engineering

Through a series of workshops with staff, physicians and community members, HGA's process engineers explored the ideal "patient experience" to formulate a vision for the patient-focused facility. Concurrent with the patient experience workshops, HGA applied Lean design principles that enable Owensboro to achieve an operationally efficient, cost-effective business model. The resulting building plan focuses on a central circulation courtyard that orients visitors, brings in natural light, and optimizes travel distances between services for patients and caregivers.

landscape architecture

Situated in the Ohio River floodplain, the Owensboro hospital takes its cues from the surrounding river ecology to integrate a complex array of water management strategies. To protect against seasonal floods on a flat site, the hospital's designed topography undulates to create stormwater retention ponds and rises to form a large plinth that elevates the hospital. These features double as recreational and healing amenities for the hospital and community. A trail system passes through restored wetlands and meadows toward an increasingly manicured landscape close to the hospital, where green roofs, courtyards and visual gardens provide a variety of experiences for patients and employees.