Challenging traditional notions of hospital and departmental organization

Now approaching more than 95,000 patient visits per year, the decades-old Emergency Department required a phased and implementable Master Plan to support the increasing acuity of patients and to standardize exam rooms for increased patient safety and operational flexibility. With the Master Plan in hand, Carle has been able to confidently incorporate several new projects, including a new ambulance drop-off and walk-in patient entrance. 

The master plan restructures ambulatory services at the main campus to accommodate projected system-wide growth. The team analyzed available real estate, prioritizing services that should remain at the space-constrained main campus and distributing other ambulatory services to satellite locations. To maximize space utilization, the study involved effective reorganization of some of the exiting ambulatory spaces while confirming code compliance and accounting for future programmatic and operational needs. 

The greater New Haven OR Master Plan was based on a 10-year forecast for both surgical and endoscopic procedures on several sites and then translates the case load into physical requirements. The Master Plan accounts for growth by specialty, reassignment of cases between sites and from inpatient to outpatient locations, and renovating and enlarging older ORs to meet current standards.   

This master plan provides a strategy to replace medical imaging equipment for every modality as it reaches obsolescence and addresses the infrastructural needs of the equipment in the existing 1980s building. It presents a realistic, multi-phased renewal strategy that reorganizes the department to optimize operations, clearly organizes wayfinding, and provides shell space for a future modality.

Master Plans for the surgical services and radiology departments re-envisioned a more patient-centric approach to care while also supporting the installation of new technologies, rightsizing key rooms, identifying the highest and best use of existing space, and exploring options for future development.

This Surgical Services Master Plan addressed the inefficiencies of two existing OR suites, one relatively new and one more than 30 years old, and focused on opportunities for a single suite that would allow for a complete replacement of the older ORs in a new location and would keep a full complement of ORs operational throughout construction.  The Master Plan also resulted in a completely new PACU/prep/recovery suite that optimizes flexibility and efficiency.