Boston – HGA announced the completion of the new Center for Advanced Heart Failure & Cardiomyopathy Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston.
BIDMC is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a cardiovascular services provider in eastern Massachusetts that sees more than 5,000 patients each year with advanced heart failure. HGA reimagined the patient and provider experience to create the new outpatient clinic through a full-gut renovation of approximately 11,000sf on BIDMC’s West Campus.
The newly designed outpatient clinic accepted its first patients in June. It consists of 10 exam rooms; several specialized spaces for performing echocardiograms, stress-tests, and ultrasound; and two infusion treatment rooms specific to the care of heart failure patients. Staff spaces were designed to balance off-stage areas to allow for respite and focus with on-stage open nurse stations and carefully positioned sightlines. Footsteps and travel distances were of paramount focus throughout the design, both for staff operational efficiency and patient experience.
The clinic is designed to create a warm, welcoming, and anxiety-reducing setting for patients while incorporating BIDMC’s design standards by featuring shades of blue, purple, and beige. In addition to modern flooring and innovative lighting, HGA designed a contemporary ceiling feature in the waiting area. The aim of incorporating this organically shaped and naturally patterned lighting feature was to provide a soothing, calm environment for patients and their families. The feature was inspired by the fractal patterns and shadows found with the leaves of forest canopies, creating a sense of comfort and reduction in stress.
Goals that guided the clinic design included:
- Human Experience: Clear wayfinding and easy access, quality of environment to match quality of care, bring the services to the patient, right size staff lounge, provide soothing views of Boston’s Emerald Necklace
- Operational Efficiency: Sufficient storage, conveniently located, universal, flexible exam rooms and infusion spaces, staff visualization flow, easy to maintain finishes and materials
- Clinical Outcomes: Safe waiting for immunocompromised patients, exam rooms close to phlebotomy, space to accommodate a six-minute walk test
The project included HGA’s architects, medical planners, interior designers, and lighting designers, in addition to HGA’s Design Insight Group to collect data and develop processes. Specialty consultants and partners on the project were Fitzemeyer & Tocci Associates, Inc., MEPFP engineer; Souza True & Partners. Inc., structural engineer; and Suffolk Construction, construction manager.
