Cutting the Ribbon on Some of Middle Tennessee’s Newest Healthcare Construction Projects

A number of new facilities have debuted in the first quarter of 2014 with more on the way. Below is a snapshot of just a few of the construction projects around Middle Tennessee that recently have been completed.

Centerstone

Behavioral health not-for-profit Centerstone recently opened the doors on their latest project. The new $6 million outpatient facility on the grounds of the Dede Wallace Campus on White Avenue was designed to provide the full continuum of services for all ages. In addition to behavioral health services, the new facility includes primary care through United Medical Clinic as part of Centerstone’s partnership with Unity to help care for medically underserved patients through integrated care clinics.

Designed by InForm Smallwood + Nickle, LLC of Nashville and built by Orion Building Corporation, the 18,000 square-foot facility includes 37 clinician offices for counselors, psychiatrists and nurses plus space for specialty programs, group therapy and play therapy areas. Large windows and bright interiors help integrate nature and sunlight into the facility.

The new construction stands on a site filled with healthcare history. The White Avenue property began serving children with polio and mental illness in 1930 after the Nashville Junior League quickly outgrew their original nine-bed Home for Crippled Children at Ninth and Monroe, which had opened seven years earlier in 1923. The campus again expanded in 1956 with the opening of the Mental Health Guidance Center, which was renamed the Dede Wallace Center in 1970 to honor Junior League volunteer and mental health advocate Louise “Dede” Bullard Wallace.

With a nod to its storied past, bricks from the original building serve as pavers to create garden areas and outline the old facility’s footprint. However, the facility utilizes thoroughly modern design theories including removing large desks between providers and patients to create an environment conducive to more natural conversation.

“We are very excited to open this innovative new healthcare facility and explore a clinical model that connects primary care and behavioral health providers under one roof,” Centerstone CEO Bob Vero, PhD, said last month at the facility’s grand opening. “Being able to continue our legacy on this important property that is deeply rooted in Nashville’s history is incredibly inspiring. We look forward to advancing the treatment and prevention of mental illness and addiction from this new location, and working to ensure the health and wellbeing of our clients’ minds and bodies.”

Vanderbilt Heart & Vascular Institute

Just in time for ‘Heart Month,’ Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute moved all of its key procedure areas to its new home on the fifth floor of the Critical Care tower, which connects to Vanderbilt University Hospital.

Designed by Nashville architectural firm Earl Swensson Associates (ESa), the new space incorporates the latest evidence-based trends to meet the needs of providers, patients, staff and families. David C. Miller, AIA, EDAC, principal on the project for ESa, noted the radial lounge takes an innovative approach to make patients more comfortable during cath lab recovery. To reduce anxiety and encourage immediate ambulation, a recliner in a spa-like environment replaces the typical bed.

The post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) was designed to facilitate close observation by clinicians while still allowing privacy. Miller pointed out the PACU has separate rooms for individual patients rather than curtained-off spaces. Decentralized nurse work areas allow for better patient observation.

The hybrid operating rooms, Miller continued, were designed with the latest recommended square footage to accommodate the most advanced technology of today. Yet, flexibility was key to being able to meet the needs of tomorrow.

“We feel that the success of the space is that the physician flow is fluid in the cardiac procedure area,” said Miller. “In creating an environment to deliver the latest procedures and technologies, we have to also be responsive for advancements that will come in the next few years … and we designed this fifth floor unit to be prepared for the future.”

Volunteer State Health Sciences Complex

Last month, Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin officially cut the ribbon on the brand new Wallace Health Sciences Complex South. The $10 million, state-of-the-art educational facility features more than 28,000 square feet of space over two stories.

Connected to Wallace Health Sciences Complex North, the new building allows programming to be spread out between the two sides of the complex to allow for more instructional space overall. Programs now located in Wallace South include ophthalmic technology, sleep diagnostics technology, emergency medical technician, diagnostic medical sonography and medical laboratory technology. The new facility marks the first time the sleep diagnostic and medical laboratory programming and labs have been fully housed on campus.

The EMT labs have two rooms for use with SimMan patient simulators and a control room for faculty members to change simulations as students practice. The sonography lab houses six beds with high definition monitors and top-of-the-line GE ultrasound equipment. A Biolyte electrolyte analyzer and Genesys UV/VIS spectrophotometers are among the new equipment in the medical lab.

“Students majoring in health science careers will encounter cutting-edge technology in their workplaces. They need to be proficient in the use of this technology, and the only way they can gain those skills is by hands-on experience,” noted Jerry Faulkner, PhD, president of Vol State, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Moody-Nolan and Street Dixon Rick, both of Nashville, served as architects on the project with Hardaway Construction, also of Nashville, overseeing the build. Groundbreaking was held in 2012 and completed in time for the start of 2014 classes.

Coming Soon

A number of other Middle Tennessee projects are in various stages of planning, development and execution. The Lentz Public Health Center on Charlotte Pike is scheduled to open this summer.

Saint Thomas West broke ground last spring on a $110 million, four-year expansion and modernization project. The centerpiece is an inpatient tower featuring 155,000 square feet of space. Additionally, renovations are expanding the square footage of critical care rooms and more than a dozen operating rooms. Architect for the multi-phase project is Freeman White, and Turner Construction has been named construction manager. The renovations and new construction are expected to be complete in 2017.

ESa is designing the new Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital Vanderbilt at Williamson Medical Center, which broke ground at the end of 2013. The $65 million expansion project is expected to open in early 2015.

On the main campus, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is moving forward with expansion plans to boost the pediatric facility to nearly a million square feet of inpatient space. A four-floor tower is being built on top of the hospital’s southeast façade at the corner of Children’s Way and Medical Center Drive. At approximately 40,000 square feet of patient care space per floor, the new project should add more than 150,000 square feet of space. Construction is anticipated to begin next year.