Project category: Addition (completed September 2006)

Chief administrator: Sandra B. Bruce, President & CEO, (208) 367-2000

Firm: HDR Architecture, Inc., (208) 387-7000

Design team: Jeff Cramer, Project Designer; Marcia Vanden Brink, Senior Interior Designer; Bernie Gehrki, Project Manager; Jim Hohenstein, Senior Project Designer; Deb Sanders, Senior Healthcare Consultant; Bob Bowen, Project Architect

Photography: © VanceFox.com

Total building area (sq. ft.): 37,690

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $292

Total construction cost (excluding land): $11,000,000

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center (SARMC), in Boise, Idaho, was one of the first hospitals in the nation to join The Center for Health Design’s Pebble Project. The new Family Maternity Center (FMC) and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at SARMC were designed to include patients and family members as partners in the care and healing process.


The FMC consists of a 37,690-sq.-ft., two-story building and allowed the hospital to change its LDRP model to an LDR+P model with the expansion of 17 new patient rooms—12 developed for postpartum and 5 that can be used as antepartum rooms. The inclusion of family and rooming-in of the birthing partner were critical design considerations, as was noise transfer from the corridor to patient rooms. Carpet was used throughout corridors and nurses’ stations in conjunction with highly rated NRC (Noise Reduction Coefficient) ceiling tiles to achieve the desired restful acoustical level.

Visibility, accessibility, privacy, noise reduction, and lighting are all critical elements in the Level III NICU, which has 32 Neonate positions situated in a pinwheel design, providing visibility and accessibility for caregivers, as well as separation for privacy and noise reduction. All ambient lighting is indirect, and ceiling tiles in the NICU are also are a high-NRC product. Additionally, cushioned sheet vinyl with an acoustical rating has been used to aid in noise absorption, as well as to reduce user fatigue for the staff.

Family spaces include a children’s play area, a lounge, a nourishment area, lactation rooms, and family sleep rooms with shower facilities.