Photography: Tim Buchman

Patewood Memorial Hospital Greenville, South Carolina

Greer Memorial Hospital Greer, South Carolina

Greenville, South Carolina, is growing. Already the third-largest city in the state, and roughly equidistant to both Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, Greenville has a population of roughly 62,000, but more importantly is the largest city of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area (CSA) which in 2006 had an estimated population of 1,203,795. Greenville's economy was formerly based largely on textile manufacturing, and the city was once known as “The Textile Capital of the World.” In the last few decades, however, low wages and favorable tax benefits have lured foreign companies to invest heavily in the area; in addition, the city is the North American headquarters for Michelin and BMW. This growth in the city itself-and of course in the surrounding suburbs-led to a need for expanded healthcare services in the area, despite the fact that the area is already served by multiple health systems.

To that end, Greenville Memorial Medical Center-the flagship hospital of Greenville Hospital System-has been designed and expanded over a 40-year period by four firms: Kiff, Voss & Franklin; Heery; Odell Associates Inc.; and DesignStrategies. The work completed since 1985 was led by Benjamin T. Rook, FAIA, FACHA, while at Odell Associates and DesignStrategies, and includes more than 1 million square feet of affected area of the overall total of 1,762,000 square feet. But it still wasn't enough.

So the system planned a pair of “ancillary” campuses-one in Greenville proper and another in neighboring Greer-to handle the anticipated growth. The resulting Patewood Medical Campus and Greer Medical Campus are each anchored by new hospitals; Patewood Memorial Hospital and Greer Memorial Hospital, respectively. And while DesignStrategies may be responsible for both facilities, they certainly are not carbon copies of each other.

Greer Memorial Hospital

Project Summary

Completion Date: 2009

Owner: The Greenville Hospital System

Architecture, Interior Design, and Engineering: DesignStrategies

Contracting: The Greenville Hospital System

Construction: BE&K Building Group, Inc.

Total Building Area (sq. ft.): 174,000

Total Construction Cost: $48,619,000

Cost/Sq. Ft.: $279

Blink and you might miss it; driving by the Greer Medical Campus, there is little to suggest that you are passing a full medical campus, complete with diagnostic outpatient center, hospital bed tower, two medical office buildings, cancer center, and even an adjacent skilled nursing facility (The Cottages at Brushy Creek). And that's just the way the Greer community wanted it.

The DesignStrategies team and Greenville Hospital System leadership-including DesignStrategies Chairman and CEO Benjamin T. Rook, FAIA, FACHA, and Greer Medical Campus President John F. Mansure, FACHE-went directly to the community to ask its members what sort of facility they would like to see. Many alternatives were presented to hospital leadership and the neighborhood teams, but the overwhelming response was that they wanted something that would blend in with the surroundings and become a welcoming, almost cozy piece of the tight-knit community-namely, the Arts and Crafts style. The Arts and Crafts style was selected because it represents the prevailing architectural style in Greer, and it was readily accepted by all involved. The tallest structutre at Greer is all of three stories, lending the entire campus a low-profile look that is the very definition of “homelike.”

“Because the hospital had been part of the fabric of the Greer community for more than 50 years, we wanted to make sure that the finished hospital looked and felt like it belonged in Greer, while at the same time, providing both the comforts and high-tech features that patients and families expect. The community has clearly embraced this facility as a place for healing and wellness,” notes Mansure.

The warm, welcoming interiors of Greer Memorial Hospital are decked out in natural wood finishes and flooded with natural light, even in places where you wouldn't expect it, thanks to many windows on all levels, as well as lightwells and skylights burrowed deep in the building's interiors. Even the ORs feature a series of windows, adding to the homelike feel that permeates the campus.

The initial phases of the campus were outpatient-focused, but eventually, inpatient beds were added and Greer now allows a complete continuum of care. The centrally located 83,000-square-foot outpatient diagnostic center acts as the anchor for the entire campus, supported by 75,000 square feet of inpatient facilities and 40,000 square feet of physician office space.

Planning for the Greer Medical Campus began in 2004 with the acquisition of 100+ acres of land. The campus was planned as a patient- and family-focused community health center, and in addition to the chosen architectural style, the campus features bikeways, walking paths, a “village green,” and other amenities that serve not only the treatment of patients, but also help to promote healthy lifestyles.

Patewood Memorial Hospital

Project Summary

Completion Date: 2007

Owner: The Greenville Hospital System

Architecture, Interior Design, and Engineering: DesignStrategies

Contracting: The Greenville Hospital System

Construction: BE&K Building Group, Inc.

Total Building Area (sq. ft.): 205,400

Total Construction Cost: $49,051,000

Cost/Sq. Ft.: $239

Patewood Memorial Hospital was designed as a 110-bed, short-stay surgical hospital in the rapidly growing east side of Greenville, catering to the surgical patient that needs no more than two or three days, typically involving some orthopedic procedure. The new east coast home to the orthopedic group Steadman Hawkins Clinic, based in Vail, Colorado, Patewood provides the latest in technology for these world-renowned orthopedic surgeons.

Because of anticipated growth in the east side community, the hospital has been planned to grow to 450 beds; the project features a cruciform internal circulation plan, which will allow for expansion in any direction, both horizontally and vertically. Many of the supporting departments are oversized to accommodate this growth. The hospital structure itself is an ample 205,400 square feet, and was designed to create a hotel-like atmosphere, a sharp contrast to the neighboring Greer Medical Campus, which is distinctly more homelike in its design and feel. “Unlike the situation at Greer, we didn't really have an established ‘community’ to ask, as most of the services here are new to the area,” explains Scott R. Jones, FACHE, president of Patewood Medical Campus. “Patewood Memorial Hospital's patient satisfaction rating is in the top 1% in the nation due to the combination of the upscale hotel feel and a highly engaged staff.”

With that concept in mind, Patewood is elegant even upon first entry, with a sumptuous entry lobby welcoming visitors with a flourish, flooded with natural light, palm trees, and a soothing waterwall. The hospital incorporates the Planetree philosophy, which includes ample room for family members, large patient spaces appointed as high-end hotel rooms, and many skylights and light wells to enhance the deinstitutionalizing of the interiors, as well as the vivid colors and classic finishes.

Located on a prominent site just off a main interstate, the curvilinear shape of the bed tower and distinctive circular features-not to mention that striking green roof-create an impression even from afar while traveling to downtown Greenville.

That green roof isn't ju
st for looks, either, but rather is part of an overall sustainability plan that also includes underground storm water detention and unique HVAC initiatives, among other features, allowing Patewood to conserve energy. The central energy plant serves not only the hospital but also an adjacent 750,000 square feet of space, including an MOB, outpatient structures, and diagnostic centers. Utility tunnels that were necessary to connect the buildings are used by staff to commute between buildings without having to cross the street, or even to go outside.

For further information, visit www.designstrategies.net or www.ghs.org.

Healthcare Design 2010 December;10(12):42-51