The idea: Lake Pointe Medical Center (LPMC) in Rowlett, Texas, is a 112-bed acute care hospital that was built in 1987 and provides emergency services, an ICU, interventional cardiology, diagnostic imaging, ORs, and women’s services that include a Level II and Level III NICU. Josiah De La Garza, associate administrator of operations, Lake Pointe Health Network, says the organization has committed to updating the facility through smaller-scale projects as opposed to a wholesale renovation. And its women’s services unit was no exception.

With several newer facilities going online in LPMC’s service area, De La Garza says it was important for the hospital to modernize to meet competitive challenges. “The unit was dated and had more of a traditional medical/surgical feel. Additionally, the nurses’ station was not very open or functional for the staff or physicians,” he says. With a goal of creating a more vibrant, inviting, and joyful space, the hospital set out on a renovation of its nurses’ station, nursery, and waiting area.
 

How they did it: Identifying a theme of celebration to mirror the celebration being had as families expand within the unit’s labor and delivery department, designers at McCallaRios Architecture (Frisco, Texas) set out to create a space that’s unique from other areas of the hospital. However, because labor and delivery couldn’t be shut down for the renovation,  a phased approach was used to minimize how many beds were offline at any given time.

The project was carried out in 11 phases, moving from one end of the unit to the other over a period of nine months. However, De La Garza says that an influx of patients early on in the project did prompt the project team to suspend a phase to accommodate those patients.

Architect Gary McCalla says that when approaching a renovation in an operational unit, “staff control has to take precedent.” From notifications that the unit was too crowded to the infection control department flagging a process, the design team was prepared to suspend work whenever necessary.
 

The big reveal: The result of the $170,000 renovation, completed in April, is a restructured waiting room, redesigned nurses’ station, a new color scheme of soft blues and greens, playful balloon lighting, wall graphics featuring inspirational messaging, images of babies born in the facility, and floor-to-ceiling windows to bring more light into the space.

Overall, De La Garza says he’s happy that across the board, the brighter, more patient-friendly update has been well received. “The biggest success of this project is the comments we’ve received from the staff, physicians, patients, and family members. When you take on a renovation project like this, you never know how people are going to react to the theme; however, we seem to have a hit a home run with this one,” he says.

For McCalla, he says the design achieved cohesiveness within the department and at the same time created an identity for the unit that stands apart from the hospital’s other inpatient wings.
 

Project details
Completion date: April 2013

Owner: Lake Pointe Health Network

Architecture: McCalla Rios

Construction: Odom Construction

Total construction cost:  $170,000

Art/pictures:  OUR360 Newborn Photography

Fabric/textiles:  Momentum and CF Stinson (waiting room)

Furniture—seating/casegoods:  Interior Design Services Inc. (IDS) – Arcadia Modular Furniture (waiting room)