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In our twenty years of working with community hospitals, we’ve become pretty adept at scaling many of the concepts used by much larger hospitals so that smaller hospitals can leverage them. From green design principles, to evidence-based design – we’ve developed our own set of best practices that deliver large-scale results to smaller-scale facilities. Our award-winning design of North Valley Hospital back in 2007 gave us the opportunity to hone our skills on Planetree - or patient-centered design principles – and integrate those into our set of best practices. Creating special places for healing is how we describe it at JJCA, and we had the opportunity to make that “official” with the certification of North Valley as a Planetree facility. North Valley has become a highly toured facility for hospitals interested in better understanding the value of the Planetree process; so much so, in fact, that the hospital foundation has been able to raise money by charging for these tours.

Given that one of the tenets of Planetree is the incorporation of art and nature into design, it was certainly an advantage for us that North Valley Hospital is located in scenic Whitefish, Montana. Our goal was to give every patient a view of majestic Glacier National Park. One of our challenges was balancing wide-open mountain views with the need for privacy on occasions when patients required transportation between clinical services and the patient wing. Our specially designed “railroad crossing doors”, integrated into several facilities since, provided the ideal solution. Translucent glass doors stay open until or unless a patient needs to be transported, at which point a staff member simply pushes a button that closes these doors on the mall and then automatically reopens them after a set period of time.

Apparently the view from the “outside in” is as stunning as that from “inside out”! When the hospital was first built, there were initially some complaints that people couldn’t find it. So of course we were concerned there might be a signage issue. As it turns out, it had nothing to do with signage. The community simply couldn’t believe that something that looked like a resort hotel was actually their new hospital!

See additional photos and learn more about our work at North Valley, including the funding of the facility with HUD 242, here.

When we think of our work with Crawford Memorial Hospital, sustainability is one of the first words that comes to mind. Of course we could talk about that in the more recognizable sense that we’ve incorporated sustainable design elements in their facilities – as we do to the greatest degree possible on all projects. But we’d like to apply this term also to both our relationships and the master plan we’ve developed in collaboration with the hospital.

Our relationship with Crawford’s administrator, Don Annis, dates back to 1981 when he met one of JJCA’s founders, Ed Johnson in Lafayette, Louisiana. Over the years that followed, Don worked with Ed on projects in Virginia and New Mexico, and on an HCA project to develop a model psychiatric hospital. As Don said, “I always wanted Ed on any project I was involved in after his excellent work on our first project together.” The relationship continued as Don worked with Ed, and with David Johnson and David Brown at Good Hope Hospital in Erwin, North Carolina from the late 90′s until 2005. When Don moved to Crawford Memorial Hospital, we were fortunate to continue our partnership.

It takes a true visionary to develop an eight phase master plan designed to carry the hospital through the next 40 to 50 years, but that’s what David Johnson developed for Crawford in 2007. Phase 1 involved the relocation of the physical therapy department to a stand-alone medical office building to allow for future growth within the hospital. Well received by the community, this out-patient facility is easy to access without having to go into the hospital. Phase 2 was the addition of a 23,000 square foot specialty clinic and administrative offices, which freed up additional space in the core of the hospital to grow clinical spaces and allow for expansion of the ER.

We’re currently working on the third phase which includes ER and lab relocations, renovations and expansions that will more than double the size of the old ER (from 4,100 SF to 8,300 SF), expand lab space significantly, and will rework central registration and admitting.

When the hospital realized that the ROI on a surgery addition – originally Phase 6 of the master plan – was greater than projects originally scheduled for earlier phases, the plan was easily adapted to current circumstances and the surgery addition and renovations will become Phase 4.

Every good master plan, like every good relationship, is both flexible and sustainable.