East Alabama Medical Center's reputation and patient care services continue to grow, demanding attention to physical facilities for accommodating the ever-expanding capacity of healthcare in Opelika and surrounding communities.

The West Pavilion project is a Patient Bed Tower Vertical Expansion requiring adding three stories over an existing two-story brick structure which houses the Intensive Care Unit(ICU) and Surgery. The newly expanded space includes 20 additional ICUbeds, 20 bariatric ICU beds, a pharmacy, and a floor for new mechanical systems.

A lightweight exterior skin system was used as a modern design element, over the mass of brick material, to lighten the load, both visually and structurally. The design also included a bridge connection to the existing tower, a feature conceived during later planning meetings and considered more essential as planning progressed.

Construction in any existing and continuing operational facility is always challenging, but the level of vulnerability of patients in this project was heightened by their acuity and the procedures going on in the ICU and Surgery spaces. Locating the mechanical floor between old and new allowed the mechanical floor to serve as a buffer to avoid unnecessary work and disruptions in the existing critical care units. Safety was a priority from start to completion of this project.

Second Floor improvements include expansion and renovation with a more extensive demolition of existing space where the Second Floor Patient Tower once stood, making way for a new “Medical Mall.” An Endoscopy Suite to add Day Surgery capacity and shelled Clinic space will be built. The demolition on this floor provided for a Critical Care Unit expansion and tie-in to the existing space and Critical Care Family Waiting.

Third Floor planning for renovations included assessing the need for a 16-bed Nursing Unit for overflow and HVAC. Renovations to the infrastructure delivered new Equipment Rooms, providing air to the Endoscopy Suite and clinics below. Traffic and Parking studies maximized usage of the site for efficient traffic flow and parking and for maintaining the integrity of the site for possible future expansion.

With this important and high-profile project, TRO Jung|Brannen successfully managed the challenging juxtaposition of efficient planning for demanding current conditions and the need for flexibility in the future.