IU Health Expands Fishers, Indiana Hospital To Meet Growing Population, Care Needs

The project team uses evidence-based design and Lean methods to deliver a community-focused hospital expansion.

Published: September 22, 2026By Kyle Hardie, Nick Slater, Andrea Sponsel, and Brian Briscoe

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Few cities in the United States have grown as rapidly as Fishers, Ind. Once an expanse of cornfields, it’s now one of the state’s largest population centers, a transformation that reshaped the region in just 15 years.

With population forecasts projecting 50 percent growth between 2016 and 2040, Indiana University Health (IU Health; Indianapolis) set out to expand its Fishers hospital campus (formerly IU Health Saxony) to meet demand in one of Indiana’s fastest-growing communities.

In October 2025, following a multiyear effort to bridge critical gaps in capacity and services, IU Health celebrated the completion of the Fishers hospital campus expansion.

The project added 50 inpatient beds and introduced specialty care such as obstetrics and gynecology; neurology; nephrology; pulmonology; and ear, nose, and throat. A new tower was constructed to house maternal and child health services, intensive care and progressive care units, expanded emergency capabilities, and enhanced diagnostic imaging with additional CT and MRI resources.

Central to the transformation were evidence-based design (EBD), Lean methods, and a strong focus on community engagement, all delivered in time to meet the needs of a rapidly growing region.

Evidence-based design principals for IU Health Fishers expansion

Any successful healthcare facility must translate clinical and operational needs into built environments that enhance care delivery. At IU Health Fishers, that translation followed five EBD principles: excellence, flexibility, intuitive wayfinding, stewardship, and fostering a great place to work. These principles guided planning and design decisions, keeping the team aligned with the project’s broader vision.

Additionally, the project team, including HKS, Inc., (architect; Dallas), MSKTD & Associates (associate architect; Indianapolis), BSA LifeStructures (MEP engineering; Indianapolis), Four Point Design (interior designer; Indianapolis), and Messer Construction (general contractor; Indianapolis), established clear goals: meet surging demand driven by population growth, reduce patient migration to competing health networks, and bring comprehensive and high-quality care closer to home.

To achieve these goals, the project team prioritized interdisciplinary collaboration and stakeholder input. Workshops, Gemba tours, and patient interviews shaped process flows and departmental layouts. For example, when facility walkthroughs revealed inefficient supply storage on inpatient units, the team incorporated nurse server carts stocked with frequently used supplies in every room to reduce walking distances for staff.

The use of EBD principles also allowed the project team to draw from best practices and research, integrating them into the design to create an intuitive, efficient, and welcoming healthcare environment.

Specifically, intuitive wayfinding principles guided the placement of reception desks and signage visible from the arrival lobby, ensuring a seamless patient experience. Meanwhile, environmental considerations led to the inclusion of dimmable lighting and natural light features in patient rooms to enhance comfort.

Creating a project roadmap for IU Health Fishers expansion

To align clinical, operational, and architectural goals, the team created design intent documents that captured the vision and objectives for each department. These summaries served as a roadmap for coordination among architects, clinicians, and operations staff. In the inpatient unit, for instance, the Design Intent called for decentralized workstations located next to patient rooms to minimize staff travel distances.

Infection control also played a critical role in these documents, which specified an integrated approach to mitigating risks within the facility layout. Specifically, airborne isolation rooms use standardized layouts with negative pressure systems and adjacent anterooms for staff preparation and containment protocols.

Circulation pathways are planned within patient floors and entry corridors to ensure safe separation and flow between patients, staff, and visitors, particularly in high-risk areas. This spatial separation not only minimizes the risk of cross-contamination but also supports operational efficiency by defining clear travel and access routes for each user type.

Enhancing maternal, family services at IU Health Fishers

A notable success on the project was the alignment of the obstetrics unit with lessons learned from IU Health’s North Hospital in Carmel, Ind., and its West Hospital in Avon, Ind. These facilities offered insights into best practices to ensure every decision was informed by data, stakeholder and patient feedback, and operational objectives.

Gemba walks at both campuses exposed operational inefficiencies such as the absence of private, sound-attenuated consult spaces and medical equipment stored in patient corridors. In response, Fishers added dedicated collaborative work zones and storage areas that reduce clutter and improve workflow.

The unit offers 16 universally designed, private labor-delivery-recovery-postpartum (LDRP) suites with flexible areas to accommodate multiple care scenarios, including two rooms with labor tubs. The rooms allow mothers to stay in one space throughout their hospital journey, eliminating the stress of transfers and reinforcing a sense of comfort and continuity. Additionally, the family-focused care model integrates dedicated family zones with convertible sleeping sofas.

To accommodate high-acuity cases, rooms are equipped with concealed medical equipment, standardized headwalls for medical gases, and infant resuscitation stations, while triage and C-section spaces remain strategically adjacent for streamlined emergency interventions.

Privacy and emotional support are prioritized through dedicated bereavement spaces and lactation support rooms, which cater to both inpatient and outpatient needs, along with seamless transitions for infants requiring additional care in well-baby or continuing care nurseries.

Leveraging Lean planning for efficient project delivery

Lean principles dictated not only the design process but also the execution strategies used to deliver the IU Health Fishers expansion efficiently and effectively. For instance, vendor partnerships, leveraged early in the planning phase, established clear expectations regarding cost, delivery timelines, and product specifications.

This collaboration ensured that critical building components, such as medical gas systems, custom cabinetry for decentralized nurses’ stations, and air filtration units for isolation rooms, were manufactured and delivered in alignment with the project schedule and design requirements.

Pull planning sessions conducted among stakeholders, including architects, construction managers, and clinical leaders, facilitated iterative scheduling that reduced delays, minimized waste, and enabled rapid problem-solving during construction.

The team also utilized target value delivery to maintain financial discipline, carefully aligning design decisions with budgetary constraints. For example, decisions regarding the standardization of room layouts and modular furniture elements were made based on projections about cost savings, ensuring resources were used where they would yield the greatest operational and patient care benefits.

Additional design-phase opportunities included off-site construction, influenced by the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic. This collaborative environment also led to innovations such as prefabricated utility systems, exterior precast walls, patient room headwalls, and bathroom pods, which avoided potential delays that traditional construction experienced in the supply chain breakdown at that time.

During planning, the team used a paper-doll and target exercise to collaboratively test and refine departmental layouts based on desired workflows. By moving scaled room models across the floor plan, they evaluated how patients, staff, visitors, supplies, medications, and waste would move through the facility, helping optimize operations, reduce staff travel, and strengthen staff–patient interaction.

The team expanded this hands-on approach with life-sized mock-ups of key spaces, including the emergency department, labor and delivery, inpatient rooms, and patient rooms, to test workflows and design details before construction.

Built within existing shell space and under tents in the parking lot due to space and budget constraints, the mock-ups allowed physicians, engineers, frontline staff, and their families to experience and evaluate the spaces, while clinical simulations informed refinements to room layouts, headwall configurations, and medical gas placement.

Together, these strategies ensured the design was thoroughly validated to support efficient care and a positive patient experience.

Integrating IU Health Fishers with the community

As IU Health expanded its Fishers campus, the design prioritized seamless integration with the local community, blending healthcare delivery with hospitality and fostering a sense of belonging. This effort is evident in the creation of a bespoke women’s entrance as well as patient-centered amenities such as concierge-style reception and self-registration kiosks, which also reflect an effort to make healthcare accessible and welcoming.

Hospitality-driven touches, including family zones in patient spaces, spa-like features including soaking tubs in recovery rooms, and on-site dining options reflect the community’s standards of comfort and support patients, families, and staff alike.

To deepen the hospital’s connection to the community, IU Health sourced artwork and furniture crafted by local artisans. From nature-inspired murals in the main concourse and café to regionally significant tactile artwork in the waiting rooms, these elements celebrate Fishers as a thriving and welcoming community.

Designing for the whole IU Health system

The Fishers project reflects IU Health’s approach to healthcare as a system, not a single building. The expanded hospital holds shell space for 36 future inpatient beds on the fourth floor, allowing it to grow in phases as demand increases.

Nearby outpatient services in Fishers, Noblesville, and McCordsville, Ind., have been scaled to improve access for non-emergency care. Across the broader enterprise, 12 concurrent projects support new and expanded service lines at multiple locations, reflecting a system-wide commitment to meeting community needs.

By applying evidence-based design strategies, leveraging Lean methodologies and maintaining strong community integration, IU Health Fishers is ready to grow alongside the community it serves.

Kyle Hardie is vice president of design and construction at IU Health (Indianapolis) and can be reached at [email protected]. Nick Slater is senior vice president and principal at MSKTD & Associates (Indianapolis) and can be reached at [email protected]. Andrea Sponsel is health practice performance leader and principal at HKS, Inc. (Fishers) and can be reached at [email protected]. Brian Briscoe is health studio practice leader and partner at HKS, Inc. (Dallas) and can be reached at [email protected].