Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon opened its new five-story Patient Pavilion. Ground was broken for the 240,000-square-foot building in July 2020, and the completion adds 64 single-occupancy inpatient rooms, new medical specialty Care and heart and vascular units, and a new Nursing Education Center. The building also includes two floors that have been “shelled” to accommodate future needs with an additional 64 rooms, which will allow DHMC space to grow.
It is the first expansion of DHMC’s inpatient facilities since the medical center opened in 1991. The first patients are expected to be admitted to the Pavilion on May 2.
“The Patient Pavilion represents the future of healthcare for the people of northern New England,” says Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. “This new building is so much more than bricks and mortar, steel and glass—it’s the foundation for meeting the growing needs of our community. For our most critically ill and injured patients, help and hope are within these walls.”
Each 32-bed floor is divided into identical pods of 16 beds, with clinical support space provided for each pod. These pods provide flexibility in dividing the floor by patient needs. Each floor connects horizontally into the existing DHMC building, providing multiple options for patient flow to and from the diagnostic and treatment areas.
The integrated design includes tools to reduce strain and increase workplace safety for both staff and patients. it includes co-working spaces and nursing hubs located among the patient rooms. The adaptable new patient rooms provide appropriate clearance, power and medical gases to convert to critical care rooms without renovation.
“At the outset of the project, we spent significant time with Dartmouth Health to understand the vision and purpose of the new Patient Pavilion. We designed the building through an integrated design process inclusive of landscape, architecture, planning and interiors to create one cohesive story and language,” says Jessica R. Stebbins, IIDA, associate vice president and health principal at HDR, the architecture firm responsible for the planning, design and delivery of the project.
The new main lobby offers essential spaces and resources, including a conference center, inpatient registration, financial services, chapel, and an area to accommodate a future café and exterior terrace.
The Pavilion also includes a complete utility plant—with two levels of emergency generators, specialized electric service, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, and high-quality water and air filtering systems.