The new 100,000-square-foot West Wing expansion is a transformational project for Cleveland Clinic Health System’s South Pointe Hospital, expressing a new image for the Warrensville Heights campus. Placing surgery as the cornerstone, the project creates a distinctive and highly visible presence in its neighborhood, with a welcoming arrival center. The relocation of the public entry and creation of a new front door is a significant site strategy for the master planning of the campus. Physically completing the integration of the existing hospital tower, the addition brings together South Pointe’s surgical and intensive care services, as well as education and community facilities funded by The Brentwood Foundation, including a 150-seat auditorium, con-ference room, and library.

Surgery and ICU units were developed in collaboration with nurses, physicians, and administrators following considerable research and study of alternatives. This interactive process generated a prototype for effective patient care delivery and an innovative, decentralized, four-bed model for ICU design. Unlike traditional, noisy central nursing stations, this module distributes units in six pods with four beds each, bringing nurses, physicians, and services closer to the patients.

Project category: New construction & Remodel/Renovation (completed September 2003)

Chief administrator: Bev Lozar, Chief Operating Officer, (216) 491-6109

Firm: Westlake Reed Leskosky, (216) 522-1350

Design team: Paul E. Westlake, Jr., FAIA, FACHA, Principal-in-Charge; Ronald A. Reed, FAIA, IIDA, Principal, Designer; Phil LiBassi, AIA, ACHA, Principal, Project Director; Rich Keilman, AIA, Associate Principal, Project Architect; V. Mitchel Lyles, PE, Associate Principal, Mechanical Engineer

Photography: John Miller, Hedrich Blessing; Kevin Reeves Photography

Total building area (sq. ft.): 96,863 (new); 17,702 (renovation)

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $238 (new); $150 (renovation)

Total construction cost (excluding land): $23,051,700 (new); $2,655,000 (renovation)

The project evolved from a planning study in 1996 by programming consultant Frank Zilm & Associates, Inc., to support the hospital’s goal of consolidating inpatient and outpatient surgery services to achieve operational efficiency and to improve physician referrals. An added benefit was the development of the option to consolidate surgical and recovery services with the surgical intensive care unit.