Medical Center of the Rockies (MCR), a new acute care specialty hospital in Loveland, Colorado, combines sustainable design, circulation and wayfinding ease, expandable infrastructure, a hospitality environment with ample patient amenities, unimpeded Rocky Mountain views, and state-of-the-art technology. The largest facility of its kind to submit for LEED Gold certification, MCR is a cutting-edge facility for today and the future.

The 595,000-sq.-ft., 136-bed medical center is designed as a hospital within a hospital. It houses the Heart Center of the Rockies and Trauma Center of the Rockies. The separate centers, clearly designated throughout the building, serve as built-in wayfinding tools. They also share key facilities and equipment.

By design, circulation paths offer the most efficient routes to surgical and trauma suites, the ICU, and step-down units. The clear separation of public routes from staff and physician routes maximizes patient privacy and improves visitor wayfinding.

Efficiency was also an integral consideration in designing patient wings and patient rooms. Patient rooms are slightly larger than average to accommodate family members and afford ease of staff movement. Staff “cockpits” allow nurses to access computers and manage other activities as they monitor patients. Rooms for patients that require constant monitoring are fitted with larger windows and are located directly across from the nursing station. The Get Well Network, installed on patient monitors, provides effective interactive-care information while enhancing staff efficiency. Convertible beds in each patient room provide maximum comfort for family members with minimal staff disruption.

The owners’ mission was to create a sustainable, hospitality-like environment. The well-lit, four-story atrium, with its stacked stone fireplaces and winding grand staircase, feels like the lobby of an exclusive hotel. Family kitchens, lounges, resource libraries, healing gardens, peaceful nature trail, and stunning sky terrace with a panoramic view of the Rocky Mountains contribute to the healing ambience.

Project category: New construction (completed February 2007)

Chief administrator: George Hayes, CEO, (970) 624-2500

Firm: Heery-HLM/Design, (404) 210-1524

Design team: Russ Sedmak, Project Director; Mark Johnson, Project Architect (Heery-HLM/Design); Margie Snow, Interior Designer (Gallun Snow Associates); Bruce Hendee, Landscape Architect (BHA Design); Wayne Trader, Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer (Cator, Ruma & Associates); Brad Buhler, Structural Engineer (S.A. Miro, Inc.)

Photography: Richard Mauro Ricchiuti; Joel Eden Photography, Inc.

Total building area (sq. ft.): 595,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $266

Total construction cost (excluding land): $158,000,000

In its quest for LEED certification, the design team worked to incorporate daylighting into patient rooms and traditionally dark operatory hallways. Other sustainable elements include recycling 75% of construction waste, specifying recycled materials, installing high-efficiency systems, specifying paper-lite systems and low-VOC materials, and more.

MCR has already accounted for future growth. Internal and external circulation patterns are designed for horizontal expansion of all services without disrupting existing patient or plant operations.