April 25, 2016 by

Meeting the Needs of the Community

The Presence Center for Advanced Care (PCAC) at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago was designed to create easy access to outpatient services, expand the network of providers, and improve overall community health. Presence Health came to CallisonRTKL looking to relocate outpatient care from the existing Saint Joseph Hospital and create a new building to consolidate services for the delivery of compassionate, effective and coordinated ambulatory care.

The planning for the project began before we could gauge the full impact of the Affordable Care Act. Nevertheless, Presence Health and the design team established a few guiding principles early on – the building had to create an efficient environment for staff to deliver care, patients had to come first, and costs had to be contained. For the project to succeed, the building had to be convenient to patients and attractive to physicians. This led to the creation of multi-specialty centers focused on cancer, interventional procedures and orthopedics, with the focus on bringing specialized care to the patients in a single location. Therefore, a cancer patient can come to the same place for exams, radiation, infusion, and alternative therapies. Orthopedic patients can meet their therapists at the same place their injuries are diagnosed. Surgical patients can have their follow-up visits in the same building they had their surgery. Outreach services are located within each center, aimed at addressing the needs of patients with chronic illnesses to try to keep them out of the hospital.

Part of the incentive behind the project was to attract new physicians to practice at the hospital and bring their patients into the system. Three levels of medical office space were included, and construction is underway on several suites. Besides having parking within the building, physicians have easy access to the hospital via a bridge from the PCAC. There is also a retail pharmacy and a coffee bar in the lobby. The PCAC has green roofs and a series of energy- and resource-saving measures as well, and we are anticipating a LEED Gold rating.

During the design and construction phases, many meetings were held with neighbors and the local alderman to make sure the needs of the community would be addressed. As part of a series of open houses provided to the public and industry professionals, a tour of the PCAC was held for the Healthcare Knowledge Community of the Chicago AIA on Wednesday, March 30^th. I kicked off the event with a presentation covering the history of the project and some of the design issues we encountered. The building owner and developer, Hammes Company, were on hand to share their perspective on the project.

The administration and staff of Saint Joseph Hospital are very pleased with their new building, and report positive responses from their patients. The vacated space within the existing hospital is being renovated to improve inpatient care. And, most importantly, the community is served by a revitalized neighborhood hospital that delivers excellent healthcare at their doorstep.