CKA designed the hospital as a flexible, expandable facility to accommodate ever-changing demographics, reimbursement patterns and medical science. Although completed in two phases, it works as a single entity. A third phase is physically separate but part of Silverton Hospital’s continuum of care.

This project replaced antiquated facilities with a progressive medical center. Its two-phase expansion virtually replaced the old hospital with a new inpatient/outpatient wing and birth center. This achieved streamlined admitting, separated public/staff circulation, enlarged diagnostic/treatment areas, and recalled the community’s pioneer structures with its entry plaza”s timber canopies.

The building is organized by a double spine circulation system, separating public and staff pathways to promote staff efficiency and provide a supportive, calming, “self-help” outpatient and family environment. The inpatient environment honors patient privacy by keeping stray traffic away from them.

The outpatient and family environment begins with an outdoor terrace, furnished with tables and potted plants for a relaxed tone. A modest lobby, with comfortable furniture, contains the admitting area. The public “spine” connects to inpatient rooms at one end and terminates with the outpatient center at the other. Located along the “spine” are the Harvest Grille dining room, espresso bar, gift shop, toilets, and lounges for each department. Public areas are enlivened with daylight, views of gardens, multiple small family-sized lounges, dramatic color, natural wood and indirect lighting.

Inpatient rooms are healing environments with views to outdoor gardens through large wood-framed windows. Most lighting is non-glare and indirect. Natural wood is used for cabinets and railings; soft, relaxing colors are prevalent. Nursing support stations are both centralized and decentralized. Satellite stations are placed at intervals of 6 patients, allowing nurses to spend more time at bedside, a proven method of improving patient outcomes.

The expansion included an 18-bed birth center with C-section room. It surrounds a new healing garden. The LDRP rooms are designed with patient and family support in mind – 350 square-foot rooms, space for children to play, built-in father sleep-sofa, entertainment/education center, Jacuzzi tub, natural materials, indirect lighting, satellite staff stations, and lactation center.

Staff accommodations include centralized storage, satellite staff stations, compact central nurse station/nursery, convenient lockers and lounge.

Silverton Hospital’s plan focused on outpatient services, a healing environment, and staffing efficiencies. It has been a resounding success; census has soared, and so has recruitment, repositioning the hospital as a leading provider in the mid-Willamette Valley region.

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