The butterfly-shaped facility that is the new Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) sits quietly on the Near West Side of Chicago awaiting the official opening of its doors this month. The RUMC facility and its staff are preparing to handle any type of pandemic or chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) disaster that might hit Chicago.
At a cost of $654 million, the 14-story, 830,000-sf medical center, designed by a Perkins+Will team led by design principal Ralph Johnson, FAIA, LEED AP, is distinguished in its ability to handle disasters.
If such an event were to hit the Chicago area, the emergency response center could offer an unprecedented level of readiness for a mass outbreak of infectious disease, bioterrorist attack, or hazmat incident.
“This is the nation’s first facility designed to provide care for patients involved in chemical, biological, and radiological disasters,” says Dr. Dino Rumoro, RUMC’s chairman of emergency medicine. “We have to be ready for any type of disaster that can hit the city of Chicago.”
The 40,000-sf emergency room includes:
- 60 individual treatment bays that can accommodate up to two patients per bay, doubling the normal patient load
- The ability to control airflow to seal off contagions in parts of the hospital
- Ambulance bays that can be converted into decontamination centers, so that CBR victims could be sprayed down in large groups
Special equipment and a flexible infrastructure allow RUMC to accommodate surge capacity to treat mass casualties beyond the ER. Pillars in the main lobby are equipped with hidden panels that provide access to oxygen and other clinical gases, allowing RUMC to accommodate even more beds in a disaster scenario.
The floors above the emergency room are devoted to the interventional platform, where diagnostic testing, surgical, and interventional services and recovery are located within a short distance of each other. This results in enhanced collaboration between medical specialists, patients, and families. A total of 42 procedure rooms with enlarged operating rooms provide the latest surgical technology.
The new hospital adds 304 individual adult and critical beds on its top five floors, increasing the total number of beds across existing and new facilities to 664, making RUMC one of the largest hospitals in the area.
The hospital is awaiting LEED Gold certification. In addition to using recycled construction materials and considerable water- and energy-saving measures, the hospital has three green roofs—one atop the main tower, another on the ninth floor open to staff, and a third atop the entry pavilion. BD+C
Related Stories
| Nov 23, 2011
Griffin Electric completes Gwinnett Tech project
Accommodating up to 3,000 students annually beginning this fall, the 78,000-sf, three-story facility consists of thirteen classrooms and twelve high-tech laboratories, in addition to several lecture halls and faculty offices.
| Nov 22, 2011
Corporate America adopting revolutionary technology
The survey also found that by 2015, the standard of square feet allocated per employee is expected to drop from 200 to estimates ranging from 50 to 100 square feet per person dependent upon the industry sector.
| Nov 22, 2011
Report finds that L.A. lags on solar energy, offers policy solutions
Despite robust training programs, L.A. lacks solar jobs; lost opportunity for workers in high-need communities.
| Nov 22, 2011
Saskatchewan's $1.24 billion carbon-capture project
The government of Saskatchewan has approved construction of the Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project.
| Nov 22, 2011
New Green Matters Conference examines emerging issues in concrete and sustainability
High-interest topics will be covered in technical seminars, including infrared reflective coatings for heat island mitigation, innovative uses of concrete to provide cooling and stormwater management, environmental benefits of polished concrete, and advancements in functional resilience of architectural concrete.
| Nov 22, 2011
Suffolk Construction selected as contractor for Boston luxury residential tower
Project team breaks ground on 488,000-sf building that will feature world-class amenities.
| Nov 22, 2011
Jones Lang LaSalle completes construction of two new stores in Manhattan
Firm creates new global design standard serving as project manager for Uniglo’s 89,000-sf flagship location and, 64,000-sf store.
| Nov 21, 2011
Mortenson and enXco partnership to build its 19th wind project
The 8,500 acres project will generate140 megawatts of wind power – enough energy to power approximately 39,000 homes.
