This project was a reinvention of the Emergency Department, in response to rapidly increasing patient volume, a need to enhance the patient experience, increase through-put, and reduce “door to doctor time,” all while providing for the latest available technology.

This project presented two key challenges. First; this was a multi-phased project that involved major coordination to ensure that occupancy and patient services were not interrupted at any point during the construction phase. The design included precise direction and timelines to allow for the closing, renovation, and re-occupancy of several areas. Many of these phases also included preparing for diagnostic equipment and supplies.

And second; the predesign services involved surveying, cataloging and evaluating several pieces of equipment that were required to be moved from the existing emergency room, temporarily stored and then installed into the newly renovated space or the addition. To accomplish this, our team needed to survey the existing equipment for quantity, physical size characteristics, power and heat load, required clearances and appropriate adjacency to clinical staff.

Bob Ryan’s longtime relationship with JFK Medical Center, is what put DIG in the running for the overhaul of their Emergency Department. At the time, JFK met an adverse position, unable to manage the volume of patients, to navigate the facility effectively, and working with outdated technology. The treatment bays had no acoustical privacy, infection control, or adequate room for emergency personnel to maneuver during critical events. Annual emergency room visits had nearly doubled, exceeding 70,000 patients, making JFK desperate for space.