Northwest Medical Center /renderings by E4H MorrisSwitzer Environments for Health
Burlington, VT – E4H MorrisSwitzer Environments for Health recently announced that the University of Vermont Medical Center’s $187 million initiative has broken ground with a new inpatient bed building, the Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building. The project, approved in 2016 and slated for completion in 2019, will facilitate the medical center’s ability to ensure patient safety and quality of care, enhance the patient experience, and provide greater operational efficiencies.
Building features include four inpatient floors of 32 single-occupancy medical-surgical, telemetry-capable rooms, for a total of 128 private rooms with private bathrooms, increasing the medical center’s single rooms from 40% to 90%. Each private patient room will include space for supporting family members and will have a medical/surgical telemetry bed and enhanced monitoring capability.
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MorrisSwitzer E4H designed the new building with the goal of enhancing quality, privacy, and healing, while providing more room for families. Private rooms have been shown to be effective in preventing hospital-acquired infections, reducing patient’s requests for pain medication, and improving patient satisfaction. The project is on target for LEED Silver Certification, supporting UVM Health System’s commitment to sustainable design and construction.
“We’ve enjoyed a long and collaborative working relationship with UVM Medical Center”, said Dan Morris, Partner, E4H MorrisSwitzer Environments for Health. “The design process for this building involved extensive consultation with physicians, nurses, and facilities experts, as well as patients and families, and community members and we are excited that the project is underway.
The building is named after Robert E. and Holly D. Miller Building, two well-known area philanthropists.
E4H MorrisSwitzer Environments for Health has worked with UVM Medical Center for over 25 years, in nearly every department of the hospital. A recent project, the Mother-Baby Unit, was awarded LEED Gold Certification. This $15.8M project designed by MorrisSwitzer E4H upgraded rooms that were over 50 years old, relocating them to the same floor as the nursery as well as labor and delivery rooms, improving patient transport and communication. The 22 new private rooms are larger, and create a calm and nurturing environment for new families.
