After 56 years of serving Dallas-area residents as a Level I trauma center and a teaching hospital for the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) School of Medicine, Parkland Memorial Hospital is preparing for retirement. And while it’s never easy to lose an iconic institution, its replacement looks to be more than capable.
Designed in a joint venture between HDR and Corgan, the new Parkland Hospital will provide the area’s 2.1 million residents with a state-of-the-art, sustainable healthcare hub.
The 1.9 million-square-foot, 862-bed hospital will incorporate a host of evidence-based and lean design principles intended to improve healing and patient comfort. Patient rooms have been designed to be acuity-adaptable, reducing intra-hospital transfers, while nursing stations have been decentralized to increase staff time spent on direct care. Circulation has been zoned to separate on-stage (patients, family, visitors and caregivers) and off-stage traffic (supplies, laundry, food service), reducing noise and congestion. Rubber flooring has also been specified in patient corridors to further reduce noise and minimize falls.
Designers have aimed to put the “park” back in “Parkland,” by including extensive views of nature from inside each patient room, as well as a central “wellness park,” a two-acre island of trees and plants that can be accessed only by patients, staff and visitors. The park will include a meditation garden connected to the hospital, with large doors opening directly into the chapel. Separate respite gardens will be provided for staff.
The finished facility will also target Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. Sustainable design elements will include the use of daylight harvesting in patient rooms and public spaces, rainwater collection for landscape irrigation, and the use of recycled and local building materials.
Crews broke ground on the new Parkland Hospital in late 2010; it is estimated to be completed in 2014. For more information about the project, visit http://newparkland.parklandhospital.com/.
