SLAM completes Doylestown Health’s Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion

The state-of-the-art 100,000-SF Cardiovascular and Critical Cre Pavilion, a new three-story addition to Doylestown Hospital.  

Philadelphia, PA. – September 9, 2020 – The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) (formerly CBRE | Heery Design Group), in partnership with Doylestown Health, completed a new $54 million, 100,000-SF three-story addition to Doylestown Hospital, called the Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion, located in Doylestown, PA.  The second floor of the Pavilion houses the Center for Heart and Vascular Care (the Center), marking the completion of phase one of a three-phase project.

The exterior design retains the campus’s signature red brick facades with tinted punched openings, contrasted with the modern look of the clear glass-walled Atrium and Family Waiting areas to blur the boundaries of nature and the outdoors with the interior.

Inside, the atrium presents a heart-healthy lifestyle upon arrival with a café that offers healthy eating and cooking classes. Visitors are encouraged to use the floating stair placed near the entrance that elegantly winds to the upper floors.  Moving deeper into the entrance, the lofty atrium gives way to a family waiting room offering the comfort of a fireplace and home-like finishes. 

The new three-story glass atrium in the Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion provides a separate entrance to the Center, while seamlessly connecting it to the main hospital to create a “hospital within a hospital”.

The second floor Center for Heart and Vascular Care is part of the hospital’s master plan, developed by SLAM and was created to expand the scope and depth of the hospital’s cardiovascular services, nationally recognized for excellence in cardiovascular care, bringing the future of medicine to the community using advanced technologies and evidence-based design principles. 

Included in the new Center is a 28 bed-wing, designed as private universal rooms to flex between the hospital’s increasing demand for cardiovascular intensive care and interventional vascular beds. The new three-story glass atrium provides a separate entrance to the Center, while seamlessly connecting it to the main hospital to create a “hospital within a hospital”.

The SLAM healthcare design team worked closely with the clinical staff to incorporate best practice and evidence-based design principles and amenities in the Center, which seamlessly integrates the highest level of clinical care within a warm and caring environment. 

The unit, focused on patient-centered care, promotes safety and noise reduction as well as efficiency and enhanced workflow of the staff.  “Pods” centered around eight patient rooms, four on each side of the bed-wing core, were designed to expedite response time to patient needs, and reduce movement and supplies in the corridors. Staff are able to collaborate in confined glass-walled spaces while maintaining visual connection to the unit.

“Noise can disrupt patients sleep cycle, it can raise the heart rate and elevate stress levels. Well-being is not only the absence of a disease or injury, it is also psychological,” says Dawn Thornton, SLAM architect and lead designer on the project.  “A well thought out design can positively influence the noise reducing qualities.”  “As designers, we need to understand that, while the hospital is a healing environment, it is also a functioning one.” 

On the second floor of the Pavilion is the Center for Heart and Vascular Care, where “Pods” centered around eight patient rooms, four on each side of the bed-wing core, designed to expedite clinician and nursing response time to patient needs, and reduce movement and supplies in the corridors.

While hospitals can’t silence patient alarms, communications between clinicians or the rapid movement of supplies through the corridors, SLAM was able to design a physical environment that disperses noise, limits its duration and helps contain ambient sound.

With patient safety and wellbeing in mind, three zones are designed in the patient room to establish designated spaces specific to clinical, patient, and family.

• Clinical Zone at the entrance to the room presents a handwashing station for ease of use as staff and family members enter and exit to reduce infection.
• Patient Zone focuses around the patient’s bed, with the entrance to the toilet room positioned on the headwall to reduce travel distance and risk of falling.
• Family Zone is furthest away from the door and provides a large window to nature. Inside this zone is a pull-out sofa encouraging 24-hour stays so the family can be part of the care team.  It also provides a place to retreat from the Patient Zone and out of the clinician’s way when needed. 

At the end of the unit is a large family area with home-like amenities. Respite rooms offer private space to release emotions and to find consolation. 

An expanded cardiac procedural suite is in the final phase of the second floor construction and will complete the Center for Heart and Vascular Care. The suite includes 20 pre- and post-op bays that feature a radial lounge for recovery from a minimally invasive transradial procedure in a hospitality setting. Earlier phased construction included completion of an endovascular hybrid surgical suite with a new hybrid OR.

Moving deeper into the entrance, the lofty atrium gives way to the Family Waiting Area, offering the comfort of a fireplace and home-like finishes.

Future Phases – Cardiovascular and Critical Care Pavilion

The next phase of the new bed-wing is currently being fit-out for a 32 universal room intensive care/ intermediate unit on the third floor and an outpatient cardiac services suite on the first floor. The cardiac services suite includes Cardiac Diagnostic Testing, Cardiac and Vascular Physician’s offices, and a Cardiac/ Pulmonary Rehabilitation gym to create a complete Cardiovascular Center.

About SLAM
The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) is a national, multi-disciplinary design firm offering architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, site planning, structural engineering, and pre-construction, with S/L/A/M Construction Services offered throughout the New England region.  Our market focus is on higher education, K-12 public/private education, healthcare, corporate, justice, sports and recreation sectors. In 2020, SLAM launched a new brand that underscores our infinite drive to unlock and solve complex design problems, rendering creativity in design to enrich lives. SLAM has offices in Atlanta, GA, Boston, MA, Denver, CO, Glastonbury, CT, Iowa City, IA, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Orlando FL and Philadelphia, PA. For more information on SLAM please visit www.slamcoll.com