Called ‘Building on the Promise,’ the design team on the scheme includes HKS Incorporated in association with Hasenstab Architects Incorporated. Construction on the scheme will be undertaken by Welty Building Company.
The heart of the scheme is the development of a critical care tower, which will be located near Locust and Exchange streets. The tower will house a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), with single patient rooms.
The scheme involves development of a new, spacious emergency department and a dedicated outpatient surgical suites. The scheme also involves expansion of the Ronald McDonald House of Akron, and a new welcome centre, which will serve as the entry point for the hospital. Also, as part of the scheme, the hospital is building a new six-storied, 1,200-space parking deck.
Department teams, in conjunction with the architects, are using small scale models, including paper dolls, to design their floors. Blueprints will be tested in full-scale mock-ups constructed in a local warehouse. This will allow doctors, nurses and patients to catch potential problems before the construction begins.
The hospital plans to cover almost two-thirds of the cost of the scheme by means of public financing and internal reserves. It plans a capital campaign to raise $50 million for the critical care tower and $10 million for the Ronald McDonald House expansion. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2013 and will be competed in 2015.
