Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center recently opened its 530,000-sf Helena Theurer Pavilion, a nine-story surgical and intensive care tower designed by RSC Architects and Page. The county’s first hospital, Hackensack University Medical Center, a 781-bed nonprofit teaching and research hospital, was founded in 1888.
The Pavilion features New Jersey’s first intraoperative MRI system, used during neurosurgical and neuro-interventional procedures to help neurosurgeons accurately remove tumors and treat conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. Of the facility’s 24 operating rooms, six have been designed to accommodate robotic-assisted surgery systems, allowing surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures that may reduce recovery time and improve outcomes.
The Pavilion also includes the following:
- 72 post-anesthesia care unit beds and 50 intensive care unit (ICU) beds
- 175 medical/surgical beds, including a Musculoskeletal Institute and intermediate care rooms
- 12 negative-pressure rooms to reduce the risk of aerosolized disease transmission within the hospital
- Six da Vinci robotic surgical systems, including four orthopedic robots for joint replacement procedures
- All-private patient rooms
In addition, the entire building can be converted to a negative-pressure facility in the event of a future pandemic or public health emergency.
The Helena Theurer Pavilion incorporates features that enhance patient comfort, patient safety, and employee efficiency. These include dedicated CT imaging on the ICU floor, a monitor tablet outside each patient room for employees, in-room team workstations, and patient lift systems.
“This is one of the largest hospital construction projects in the country, and we could not be more proud to advance healthcare for the communities we are privileged to serve,” Robert C. Garrett, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health, said in a statement.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Hackensack Meridian Health
Design and medical planning architect: Page
Architect of record (interior build-out of the Pavilion): Page
Architect of record (overall): RSC Architects
MEP: Syska Hennessy Group
Structural engineer: Reuther + Bowen
Construction manager: Blanchard Turner
Related Stories
| Oct 18, 2010
World’s first zero-carbon city on track in Abu Dhabi
Masdar City, the world’s only zero-carbon city, is on track to be built in Abu Dhabi, with completion expected as early as 2020. Foster + Partners developed the $22 billion city’s master plan, with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Aedas, and Lava Architects designing buildings for the project’s first phase, which is on track to be ready for occupancy by 2015.
| Oct 13, 2010
Prefab Trailblazer
The $137 million, 12-story, 500,000-sf Miami Valley Hospital cardiac center, Dayton, Ohio, is the first major hospital project in the U.S. to have made extensive use of prefabricated components in its design and construction.
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital tower gets modern makeover
The Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., expanded its D unit, a project that includes a 243,443-sf addition with a 12-room operating suite, a 36-bed intensive care unit, and an enlarged emergency department.
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital and clinic join for better patient care
Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers, the two-story Owatonna (Minn.) Hospital, owned by Allina Hospitals and Clinics, connects to a newly expanded clinic owned by Mayo Health System to create a single facility for inpatient and outpatient care.
| Oct 13, 2010
Maryland replacement hospital expands care, changes name
The new $120 million Meritus Regional Medical Center in Hagerstown, Md., has 267 beds, 17 operating rooms with high-resolution video screens, a special care level II nursery, and an emergency room with 53 treatment rooms, two trauma rooms, and two cardiac rooms.
| Oct 13, 2010
Cancer hospital plans fifth treatment center
Construction is set to start in December on the new Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s $55 million hospital in Newnan, Ga. The 225,000-sf facility will have 25 universal inpatient beds, two linear accelerator vaults, an HDR/Brachy therapy vault, and a radiology and imaging unit.
| Oct 13, 2010
New health center to focus on education and awareness
Construction is getting pumped up at the new Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, Denver. The four-story, 94,000-sf building will focus on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 12, 2010
Holton Career and Resource Center, Durham, N.C.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. Early in the current decade, violence within the community of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., escalated to the point where school safety officers at Holton Junior High School feared for their own safety. The school eventually closed and the property sat vacant for five years.
| Sep 13, 2010
Palos Community Hospital plans upgrades, expansion
A laboratory, pharmacy, critical care unit, perioperative services, and 192 new patient beds are part of Palos (Ill.) Community Hospital's 617,500-sf expansion and renovation.
