PHOTO TOUR: Sands-Constellation Center for Critical Care At Rochester General Hospital
Kim Smith Photography
The operating suite corridor provides natural light at the end of the corridor and artwork in the corridor were chosen to relieve staff stress. All surfaces are easily cleanable—solid surface material and integral sinks are used throughout all patient and staff spaces. Patient transport is made easier with stretcher storage provided in each suite.
Kim Smith Photography
A central nurses’ station serves as a beacon to staff, families, and patients. Staff workstations are located outside every other room to allow nurses to keep watch over patients. Next to each station is a nurse server for efficiency.
Kim Smith Photography
Fourteen private rooms in the Twig Neonatal Intensive Care Unit make it easier for a family to be present during newborn recovery.
Kim Smith Photography
When operating rooms are not in use, indigo lights are automatically turned on to sterilize surfaces. Additionally, all building air passed through the air handlers is UV radiated, significantly reducing recirculation issues.
Kim Smith Photography
Twenty-three operating suites offer expansive space that allows a larger margin for safety to avoid contamination and reduce stress for staff.
Kim Smith Photography
Cool tones and abundant lighting are featured at the surgery suite main entry. This is a bustling area where patient rooms and operating suites converge.
Kim Smith Photography
Twenty new postpartum rooms are specifically designed with safety features for mom and baby and provide a soothing, quiet, and gentle space for recovery. A sloped sink is designed for newborn bathing, while moms will benefit from a large bathroom with no lips in the shower to ensure safety. The oversized rooms include a sleeper sofa for families to be present with mom and baby, and plenty of space for visitors.
Kim Smith Photography
The 20,000-square-foot sterile processing space is quadruple the size from the legacy hospital and is a cornerstone of the hospital’s infection prevention and quality programs.
Kim Smith Photography
Each floor offers a well-appointed family waiting room and common space with kitchenette and comfortable seating to provide a peaceful place to relax.
Rochester Regional Health
Natural brick and expansive windows create a curved exterior at the Sands-Constellation Center for Critical Care. The design brings a modern look to the hospital entrance.
Rochester Regional Health
The seven-story bed tower is a focal point of the Rochester General Hospital campus.
Rochester Regional Health in Rochester, N.Y., partnered with CPL (Rochester, N.Y.) and LeChase Construction (Rochester) more than five years ago to develop a plan to help the organization better deliver care to the aging population as well as future generations to come. The result is the seven-story, 312,000-square-foot Sands-Constellation Center for Critical Care at Rochester General Hospital, which opened in October 2020. The addition includes a new surgical care center with operating rooms, women’s health and newborn care suites, and 108 acuity-adaptable private patient rooms.
All patient rooms and public spaces are designed with an interior color palette reflective of Lake Ontario. Various shades of cool blue tones are utilized against a contrasting warm wood color. An abundance of natural light and nature-inspired graphics contribute to a healing environment for patients and families and a bright and lively space for staff. Attention to the aging population drove some of the patterning, lighting, and color decisions. Striving for a timeless design, the use of bold colors and trendy decorative elements was limited to more easily changeable materials and finishes.
In addition, the building is in review for the LEED for Healthcare certification. Every product and material had sustainability in mind—from the glue that holds down the floor, to the drywall components, and ceiling systems. In addition, recycled materials were leveraged where possible.
Plans for the facility were made well before COVID-19; however, the flexibility of the design offered built-in resilience that greatly assisted with the management of the disease:
- The addition of acuity-adaptable beds in the community allowed Rochester Regional Health to manage the fall and winter influx of critical patients with COVID-19.
- When ORs are not in use, indigo lights are automatically turned on to sterilize all surfaces from bacteria.
- Air passing through the handlers are UV radiated, mitigating germ circulation.
- The new sterile processing unit offers new technology to bolster infection prevention efforts throughout the hospital. With a much larger footprint from it’s previous location, the new sterile processing center is outfitted with seven state-of-the-art steam sterilizers to ensure instruments are sanitized and sterilized and an endoscope reprocessing system that cleans and disinfects scopes with limited human intervention.
Project details:
Facility name: Sands-Constellation Center for Critical Care at Rochester General Hospital
Location Rochester, N.Y.
Completion date: October 2020
Owner: Rochester Regional Health
Total building area: 312,000 sq. ft.
Total construction cost: $250 million
Cost/sq. ft.: $485 with site and enabling, $455 without
Architecture firm: CPL Architects|Engineers|Planners
Interior design: CPL
General contractor: LeChase Construction
Engineering: CPL and M/E Engineering P.C.
Builder: LeChase Construction
