Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler sets benchmark for essential services to rural communities.
Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler, opened in July 2019, continues to provide essential services to surrounding rural communities. Designed by HGA, the destination health, wellness and community center is the first of its kind for the greater Fresno area and provides comprehensive essential care for the California Central Valley community, serving all stages of life, from birth to elderly care.
Owned by Fowler Business and Professional Park, LLC, a partnership between Adventist Health Central Valley and Valley Children’s Healthcare, Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler delivers clinical excellence in the medical groups’ shared region of operation, while also enhancing the surrounding community by teaching its members about living healthier lives. The campus-like, healthcare village was designed by HGA to reflect a lifelong journey of health in an approachable, one-stop location offering holistic clinical services including maternal fetal medicine, pediatric primary and specialty care, family medicine, adult specialists and dental care.
Partners in Healthcare Delivery
Adventist Health Central Valley and Valley Children’s Healthcare came together with a shared vision to bring an array of accessible care and services to the southern part of Fresno County. As a result, HGA worked with the partners to establish the 46,000-square-foot health hub which includes 47 exam rooms and six procedure rooms in addition to shared support spaces, central registration, conference rooms, community spaces, offices, imaging, lab and pharmacy. At the heart of the 16-acre campus is the 11,000-square-foot Life Center that connects the general public to clinical personnel in addition to insightful medical research and information.
“Adventist Health Central Valley sought to better serve patients in the areas of pediatrics and maternal fetal medicine, fields in which Valley Children’s Healthcare is well-known and respected nationally,” said David Dailey, Principal at HGA. “Sharing Adventist Health’s values exceptional patient care and the health of our communities, Valley Children’s Healthcare was proud to partner to bring these services to Fowler-area families.”
“Valley Children’s mission is to provide high-quality, comprehensive healthcare to children and to continuously improve their health and wellbeing. The building – from design to construction – has been focused on supporting our patients and families to build healthier lives and to be well more of the time. This project provides a tremendous new access point and greater access to care for Fowler and the surrounding communities,” added Todd Suntrapak, President & CEO of Valley Children’s Healthcare.
An Oasis of Care
Through interactions with the client, community and user groups using its own 3P Lean Design process (Production, Preparation, Process), the HGA team was able to create a space that feels more like a community destination than a healthcare facility. Information gathering revealed the partnership had a strong desire for an approachable space that attracts, embraces and serves the community at large. In response, HGA circulated the medical plaza around a large glass cylinder that punches through the middle of the centrally located Life Center’s registration area. At an impressive 50 feet in diameter, the cylinder is not only the focal point of the Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler, but it also serves as a beacon to the Fowler community and those passing through it on nearby Highway 99. Furthermore, the design feature is roofless, creating a large outdoor courtyard that offers a safe space for children to play with sunlight, fresh air and plants for biophilic respite. It also features an orange tree as a nod to the agricultural focus of the Central Valley.
HGA’s overall design emulates the connection between childhood and adulthood, so that all ages feel at ease and well cared for within the facility. This balance is seen immediately upon entering the Life Center, where there are various waiting zones in which children can play freely while still being visible to their parents. The placement of the tree in the open-air cylinder naturally creates quiet and active areas within the courtyard space. Inside the building, technology engages children while colors, shapes and light features provide visual and sensory interest throughout the space.
HGA included additional design elements that support the medical plaza’s approachability, particularly in connecting the space with its natural surroundings by reflecting the flourishing agriculture fields and orchards of the rural Central Valley. The clinical, wellness and educational functions all incorporate light, rich colors and lofty spaces into a comfortable aesthetic reflecting the local community’s history and agricultural values. A bright and open interior atrium and reception area welcomes visitors, where structural columns disguised as “trees” brace a glass canopy roof that fills the space with natural light.
“We wanted Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler to be a true oasis for holistic care, and every design decision supported that goal,” said Heather Kampa, HGA’s senior interior designer on the project. “From the moment guests enter the property, they are welcomed into a warm and lively environment which puts them at ease, no matter their reason for being there.”
The remainder of the 11,000-square-foot Life Center is organized with intentional design elements that support wayfinding, such as varied colors and shapes which are associated with the complex’s diverse medical specialties. Suspended glass globes in corresponding colors lead patients from the general registration desks and waiting area to separate entrances for each clinical space. The clinical spaces feature a subdued color palette in the adult area, with colors and shapes representing local orchards and agriculture that evoke vibrance and vitality. Regionally inspired artwork further enhances wayfinding, showcasing local artists, photography and historical elements.
A Safe Space for the Community
HGA addressed the client’s deep desire for delivering clinical excellence in the space through a design which facilitates an on-stage/off-stage delivery model, crucial for advanced, innovative care and better collaboration within the clinical spaces. Driven by Valley Children’s Healthcare’s leadership, this model provides advantages for a small community like Fowler in terms of efficiency and patient privacy. Primarily, operational efficiency is enhanced by two separate sets of corridors that benefit through-put by increasing the number of cases and people served per day. Furthermore, patients are separated from staff until they are treated, and a private corridor at the back side of exam rooms eliminates potential run-ins and unplanned encounters with friends or neighbors during treatment.
In order to ensure Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler positively impacts the community for years to come, HGA emphasized both flexible and resilient design. The city’s general plan was utilized to accommodate the access points for the multi-acre medical plaza development so that everything flows together seamlessly—from the building, to its surrounding outdoor parks, to its on-site residential community. The inviting facility is designed to double as a community center with social spaces, playgrounds and meeting rooms. The building itself has the ability to accommodate events, particularly within the Life Center, while its outdoor parks can host farmer’s markets and other large-scale community events.
“It was important to the client that the surrounding community could feel comfortable to enjoy the Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler, whether they are there for a doctor’s appointment or for an event,” said David Dailey, principal at HGA. He continued, “Our hope is that it ultimately promotes an overall healthier community by providing an inviting local resource for quality care and medical information for all who seek it.”
HGA executed the design through the seamless collaboration of multiple offices throughout the course of the project. The firm’s Milwaukee office was central to the 3P process, which helped to provide the framework and schematic for the rest of the project, as it validated the findings from the project team’s initial visioning sessions. After the planning and initial design phases, HGA’s Sacramento office took the project over to ensure the essence and integrity of the Milwaukee office’s design was maintained through the completion of the project. Heather Kampa, principal in HGA’s Sacramento office, was not only deeply involved in the 3P process, but she also oversaw both the interior and exterior design, the final result was a unique point of connection and continuity throughout the project.
The HGA project team included David Dailey, principal and medical planner; Ron Sorenson, project manager; Susan Vuong, project architect; Bryce Hubertz, project designer; Heather Kampa, senior interior designer; Lotos Chen, interior designer; Brent Forslin, structural engineer; Glenn Perez, structural engineer; and David Ainsworth of Ainsworth Associates Mechanical Engineers. S.C. Anderson, Inc. served as the general contractor and ECOM Engineering managed the electrical and telecom aspects of the project. Landscape architect, Robert Boro, also contributed.
The project was a Finalist in the 2020 Healthcare Design Showcase.
Learn more about Adventist Health Medical Office – Fowler in this video presented to AIA Central Valley.