Project category: Addition (completed November 2005)

Chief administrator: Lydia Tarta, Director, Oncology, Radiology, and Pharmacy Services, (973) 971-5511

Firm: WHR Architects, (713) 665-5665

Design team: Charles Griffin, Principal-in-Charge; Joel Colwell, Project Manager; Steve Cano, Project Architect; Sylvie Bucci, Interior Designer

Photography: Woodruff/Brown Architectural Photography

Total building area (sq. ft.): 6,750

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $252

Total construction cost (excluding land): $1,700,000

Morristown Memorial Hospital (MMH) is the flagship facility of the Atlantic Health System. This 642-bed tertiary care facility provides healthcare services for a large regional area in northern New Jersey. The hospital offers advanced medical services, including a premier cancer treatment program.

The MMH vertical expansion of the Breast Cancer Center has made the facility one of a select few with the unique clinical application of radiation therapy “intensity modulation.” The center’s departments include a Women’s Center, Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, and Private Practice Oncology/Hematology. The center also houses two linear accelerator vaults, a high-dose radiation brachytherapy treatment room, and a CT scanner. A resource center, available to patients and visitors, provides computers with Internet access.

The facility was designed with patient-centered care features such as skylights, an outdoor garden, a meditation room, an additional garden on the plaza level, a donor wall, and a water wall. Many spaces accentuate natural light and provide views of nature. These serene environments enhance the healing process and make visits of any length much more enjoyable. The colors used are warm and soothing. Several rooms feature a spa-like atmosphere, which helps alleviate patients’ stress.

The entire Cancer Treatment Center was made possible by private donations.