Project category: New construction (completed June 2004)

Chief administrator: Kurtis D. Gramley, Chief Executive Officer, (724) 346-0544

Firm: Burt Hill, (724) 285-4761

Design team: James T. Schmida, Programmer, Planner; Timothy J. Cowan, Project Manager and Construction Administration; Thomas Demko, Project Designer, Project Architect; David A. Hornicak, Civil and Site Design; James N. Schmitt, Jr., Interior Designer

Photography: © Ed Massery

Total building area (sq. ft.): 24,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $183

Total construction cost (excluding land): $4,380,385

High-quality healthcare delivered at a low cost in decentralized locations convenient to the physician and the patient is the model of community healthcare in the future. The design of Edgewood Surgical Hospital supports that model. Edgewood’s well-organized floor plan creates an efficient caregiving environment that provides required technology in an environment that enables medical staff to focus on patient care, makes patients feel comfortable and at home, and keeps facility maintenance and operating costs low.

The single-story, 24,000-square-foot facility has a compact layout that minimizes patient and staff travel distances. The result is tightly integrated, efficient patient care. Pre-op and recovery are on opposite sides of the same large room so nurses can easily move from one to the other as the patient load changes. The four operating rooms each measure 600 square feet, and the ten single-patient rooms are as large as double rooms at other facilities.

The hospital has an attractive entrance, waiting room, and registration area reminiscent of a modern hotel lobby, with high-quality carpet, comfortable upholstered furniture, and flower arrangements. Back-of-house areas received no less attention to design, but they are strictly functional, finished with materials that are durable and easy to maintain.

Both areas have abundant natural light from wide windows. The pre-op/recovery area, located in the interior of the building, has a large skylight that admits natural light and gives patients cues about the weather and passage of time. Even the open-MRI room has a window.