Hospital renovation transforms women's and children's care

HCA Virginia’s Henrico Doctors’ Hospital renovation evokes contemporary elegance

HCA Virginia’s Henrico Doctors’ Hospital recently completed an extensive renovation and expansion designed to better serve the hospital’s women and children patients. The hospital worked with Gresham, Smith and Partner’s (GS&P) to design more than 60,000 square feet of renovated space and a 20,000-square-foot expansion, including a dedicated entrance and lobby, additional Labor and Delivery rooms (L&D) and a state-of-the-art Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The consolidation of the NICU, relocation of postpartum rooms, conversion of the 4th floor into gynecology and new L&D rooms provide the additional capacity and operational efficiency needed to serve the community.

“Our newly renovated NICU and updated L&D rooms set a new standard of care for our patients and improve the environment for mothers and children by keeping them together in the same space,” says Will Wagnon, chief executive officer of Henrico Doctors’ Hospitals. “Our primary goal is to provide high-quality, comprehensive care in a healing environment, and we are pleased to see an incredibly positive response from the community as a result of our expansion.”

The project features a new two-story lobby that provides views and daylighting through a glass exterior wall to create a warmer environment, according to S. Robert Hamby, AIA, NCARB, EDAC, LEED AP, senior architect, GS&P.

"This enhanced, calming environment is important to the families, particularly NICU patients’ families, who spend extended time at the facility,” Hamby says. “In addition to an enhanced human experience, the expansion and renovation also provides operational efficiencies. A dedicated drop-off, entrance and lobby separated from general patient entry improves patient flow for the campus at large. A triage and recovery suite that supports the C-section rooms increases utilization and keeps delivery patients from having to wait in the emergency department.”

The new curved lobby with wood walls makes a contemporary, yet elegant statement, creating a strong identity for the women’s entrance. The unique geometry extends to the exterior. The facility was inspired by the surrounding landscape and leverages local stone on the exterior near the entrance and in the lobby to elicit a sense of place. The LDR rooms feature color-changing LED lights, which mimic the color temperature of light throughout the day. Occupants can adjust the color and color temperature.

GS&P previously provided master planning for the hospital as well as other service lines including the design of the campus’ emergency department and Heart Center expansion.