By Nathan Peck | MiBiz
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HOLLAND TOWNSHIP — Spectrum Health Medical Group’s new facility at 588 E. Lakewood Drive serves as an effort in collaboration.

Spectrum Health Medical Group consolidated back office and infrastructure in its new facility in Holland Township. COURTESY RENDERING

The 58,000-square-foot, two-story facility will house five Spectrum Health Medical Group offices currently spread over five locations around Holland. Spectrum leveraged its experience with Integrated Architecture to find efficiencies in the building’s design to maximize flexibility and improve the patient experience. SHMG will also seek LEED certification.

Rather than build out separate IT, front desk, back office and mechanical functions for each of the offices, these functions are centralized, with exam and procedure rooms branching off from the front desk area.

“As we went through the design phase for this facility, with all the unique needs of all these specialties, we focused on finding key, consistent elements of planning throughout the facility,” said Alan Kranzo, director of facilities at Spectrum Health Medical Group. “We wanted to ensure that it was a patient-centered facility that made it easy for the patient to navigate.”

Integrated Architecture brought to bear on the Lakewood facility the experience it gained from previous designs for Spectrum Health, said Randy Pease, senior design architect for the firm.

“We started by looking critically at the patient experience from the moment that they step in the door and looked at how we improve that,” Pease said. “It is an evolutionary process that we continue to fine tune as we work on these ambulatory facilities for Spectrum. We focus on designing high-performance buildings, from the actual building performance to providing a good experience for staff and the patients themselves.”

Patients will check in at a single reception desk and wait for their appointments with specialists, rather than be directed to each specialty’s office to re-register. It is a small detail on the surface, but it saves time and resources for the patients and office staff.

“From the beginning, we decided we will not have suites, that it will be a medical office building that is seamless,” Kranzo said.

The design incorporates flexibility to allow for future renovations of the patient and office areas. Information technology, HVAC and utilities are all delivered from below a raised floor system to allow easy access for maintenance and upgrades without disturbing the floor below, making renovations less intrusive. Similarly, examination and procedure rooms are in room clusters or pods, which are modular in their dimensions. Two exam rooms could be combined to make a procedure room by removing an interior wall as the group’s needs change.

The decision to combine specialties under one roof came in part as several leases on existing facilities were set to expire in early 2012.

“It makes a great deal of sense for us to consolidate these services in one modern facility,” Dr. James M. Tucci, president of SHMG, said in a statement. “Spectrum Health is committed to keeping care local and providing a high-quality, convenient experience for our patients. Our patients who reside in the area will benefit from having multiple services in one easily accessible location.”

As the building will be occupied in spring 2012, the pace of construction is a major concern.

Construction manager Elzinga & Volkers Inc. said the scheduling of subcontractors’ work on the project is key. The design, construction management and subcontracting firms have been meeting for months to stage the sequence of work in the building. The design makes use of prefabricated components as much as possible. Vos Glass Inc. is prefabricating all the frames and windows offsite to speed installation, while electrical contractor Highpoint Electric is prefabricating conduit prior to installation.

“As we have to turn this building around in eigth months, it is a challenge. It’s a large facility and very detailed. It’s a unique building. It is not something that Spectrum has done before,” said Elzinga & Volkers Project Manager Dustin Kuzee. “We rely on subs quite a bit, and we are calling meetings with them months ahead of time. We are setting up the steel right now and talking about the finishes on the interiors.”