St. Luke's Helen G. Nassif Center for Women's and Children's Health Cedar Rapids, IA
PROJECT CATEGORY New Construction (completed May 2001)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR Mary Kalkoff, RN, Executive Director, Women’s and Children’s Services, (319) 369-7211
FIRM Ellerbe Becket, (612) 376-2000
DESIGN TEAM Doug Westby, Lead Architect and Medical Planner; Christine Hester Devens, Lead Interior Designer; Michael Florell, Project Director; Howard Nelson, Project Architect
PHOTOGRAPHY Dana Wheelock
BED CAPACITY 76
TOTAL BUILDING AREA (SQ. FT.) 90,000
TOTAL LAND AREA N/A
TOTAL COST Not released
The primary goal of this project was to create a family-centered facility with the following features: Women’s Health Education/Conference Center; Lending Library with women’s health resources; Women’s Care Clinic with complementary therapies; Birth Center with 37 family-focused LDRP/antepartum patient rooms (each with a queen-size postpartum Murphy Bed); flexible nurses’ station layout in the Birth Center allowing centralized or decentralized nursing coverage over various census conditions; buffet food service at the Birth Center, with public and private dining options; a 22-bed NICU with all private rooms; Acute Care Pediatric (12 beds) and Pediatric ICU (5 beds); and patient rooms (LDRP, NICU, Peds and PICU) with rooming-in capability for a family member.
The interior design emphasizes hospitality, with rounded forms, soft lighting and the warmth of wood to reinforce the comforting environment. In the lobby, a water feature and extensive plantings introduce a soothing connection to nature.
Throughout the facility, there are numerous comfortable sitting areas where families can gather to visit.
In the first-floor Birth Center, new parents and their families benefit from advanced medical care. The richly appointed private birthing suites feature a queen-size Murphy Bed for Mom and Dad, entertainment center, refrigerator and whirlpool tub.
St. Luke’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is one of the first to have all-private patient rooms. Based on the concepts of developmental care, lighting, sound and temperature can be custom-tailored to each baby’s condition and developmental needs.
The spacious, sunlit patient rooms in the Pediatrics and Pediatric Intensive Care Units bring homelike comfort to families. A playful lighthouse theme appeals to the various ages treated on the units
.