Project category: New construction & Remodel/Renovation (completed July 2005)

Chief administrator: Lori Herndon, Administrator, Mainland Division, (609) 652-3420

Firm: Francis Cauffman Foley Hoffmann, Architects, Ltd., (215) 568-8250

Design team: Harry H. Hummel, Jr., AIA, Principal-in-Charge; Suzanne R. O’Connell, Director, Healthcare Interior Design; Clarke Van Sant, RA, Project Manager; Aran A. McCarthy, AIA, Project Architect; Alfred A. Driscoll, Project Planner; Haley C. Driscoll, Project Interior Designer

Photography: ©2005 Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.

Total building area (sq. ft.): 65,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $338

Total construction cost (excluding land): $22,000,000

The Center for Childbirth consists of two floors dedicated to Labor and Delivery and to Postpartum and Obstetrics. It was designed to accommodate 2,800 births per year. The old unit was 14,100 square feet with 18 semiprivate postpartum rooms, an LDR, and 2 C-section rooms. Before the opening of the new center, all NICU patients were transported to AtlantiCare’s Atlantic City campus. The new Center for Childbirth features a 9-bed NICU, 8 private LDR rooms, 2 semiprivate antenatal rooms, 2 C-section rooms, 21 private and 4 semiprivate postpartum rooms, and 13 intermediate-care nursery beds.

There are many hospitality amenities throughout the new center, such as a water feature in the main lobby, LCD TVs in all the patient rooms, wireless connectivity throughout the building, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a Jacuzzi tub in all the LDR rooms. The center includes spaces for patient education, antenatal testing, six physician on-call rooms, family waiting areas with hospitality stations, and overnight rooms for parents of NICU patients.

The client directed the designers to create an environment that was inviting, clean, and contemporary. They also wanted to incorporate colors, finishes, and design elements that would make references to their location on the Jersey Shore.

Graphics, signage, and artwork from the region are an integral part of the design. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center has adopted a corporate arts policy called the Healing Arts Program as a response to studies showing the positive effects of art in creating healing environments. The arts program includes nearly 200 original works by New Jersey-based artists.