Forward-thinking, “green” and aesthetically pleasing describes Kentucky’s new or renovated healthcare facilities.

By Melanie Wolkoff Wachsman

Kentucky not only offers high-quality healthcare but design-forward healthcare facilities. From new construction to complete renovations or additions, healthcare operations within the bluegrass state offer an assortment of unique art elements, “green” and safety features and state-of-the-art technology in its structures. Below are a few examples of recently built or renovated facilities that caught our eye for their outstanding design features.

UK Chandler Hospital, UK HealthCare
Art, in all of its forms, combined with the science of medicine, work in concert to create a comforting, welcoming and healing environment at the Lexington, Ky.-based UK Chandler Hospital. This 1.2 million-square-foot center for specialty and sub-specialty care will support UK HealthCare. Opening to patients is 128 beds, including 48 in the intensive care unit and 80 for acute care, as well as the lobby, chapel, surgical waiting room and a 305-seat auditorium.

The new Chandler Emergency Department is equipped with state-of-the-art monitoring and life-support systems. The physical design of the patient room allows essential clinical technology to be at the bedside and reduces the need for patient movement.  Other features include: an atrium lobby that connects to all existing pavilions; ICU, progressive and acute patient rooms in the same tower; floor design that uses acoustic materials; private rooms that support noise reduction; and floor to ceiling height and wider doorways accommodate future technology.

The Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, University of Louisville & Jewish Hospital/St. Mary’s Healthcare
The 90,000 square foot Cardiovascular Innovation Institute (CII) is home to world renowned investigators and entrepreneurs. The CII possesses unique capabilities to take research findings from the biomedical and bioengineering labs straight to the bedside, helping patients lead better lives. The facility houses an unrivaled preclinical R&D complex permitting the most multifaceted surgical and interventional procedures conducted on multiple animal species. The research labs provide biologic and engineering capabilities with equipment such as tissue culture suites, microscopy, medical device design and construction, regenerative medicine suites and a class 1,000 GMP compliant cleanroom, for processing materials to support human clinical trials and human therapies.

Riverbank Filtration Tunnel & Pump Station
The Louisville Water Company (LWC) embarked on the Riverbank Filtration (RBF) program to provide a new source of drinking water and to address public health and future drinking water regulations as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act. The project uses a tunnel and well system to capture the ground water that primarily comes from the Ohio River. The water flows from the Ohio River, through the naturally filtering sands and gravels of an aquifer and into wells. The water then flows by gravity into a tunnel and is pumped to a treatment plant. LWC can deliver up to 75 million gallons a day of high quality RBF water to the plant.

Riverbank Filtration is a “green” approach to producing high-quality drinking water utilizing the earth as a natural filter. Because water is naturally filtered, it requires less treatment, and the treatment process eliminates taste and odor issues. LWC is the first utility in the world to combine a gravity tunnel with wells as a source for drinking water.

Norton Cancer Institute
Louisville, Ky.-based Norton’s Cancer Institute is a 65,000 square foot, three-story facility. It provides care under one roof for all of the needs of any cancer patient. The facility is designed with the patients’ needs as the top priority from decreasing stress to promoting healing. The unique, comforting design and space planning along with the color palettes aid in providing optimal care. Unique areas include meditation gardens, reading and educational areas; children’s play area that includes an “eye-click” interactive tool, coffee bar, and physician/patient consultation area.

The first floor features an inspirational architectural glass art wall by Kenneth F. Von Roenn, Jr. Located outside the radiation treatment area is the “Hands of Connection” wall art by Che Rhodes, which illustrates the importance of the hands to treat, heal and console. Investment in high-tech equipment and research development were also top priorities. The building’s construction followed the LEED principles (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designation, the national standard for a “green” building which ensures energy conservation, efficiency and “green” techniques.

Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital Patient Care Addition
The Lexington, Ky.-based Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital Patient Care Addition added 158,064 square feet to the current 191,183 square feet for a total of 349,248 square feet.  The new facility offers wide hallways for increased accessibility for wheelchairs and walkers, state-of-the-art patient rooms with overhead tracking system to allow for more safe and convenient patient transfers and six therapy gyms.  The architect designed a three-story atrium that allows the addition of 40 patient rooms, each with a window. This gives patients a feel as if their room was looking outdoors so the walls were treated of the same as the exterior walls –with brick and cut-stone masonry features.  At the ground level street pole lights, plantings, a fountain and brick seat-walls were installed to further the outdoor concept.  The roof over the atrium is filled with multiple skylights to flood the atrium and patient rooms with natural light.  The new addition also allowed for a new aquatic facility, equipped with three handicapped accessible pools.