Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital hired Kahler Slater to master plan and design their new 176-bed replacement hospital campus with a goal of re-defining community health care and becoming a national benchmark. Kahler Slater partnered with Martha Jefferson to ensure their vision was met through every experience. To embrace the historic views in the shadow of Monticello while minimizing visual impact to the community, the hospital is set into the hillside, minimizing site construction and cost.

Challenged with creating the most operationally efficient new chassis for a community hospital that would contribute to improved clinical outcomes, the goal was to create a better place to practice medicine and increase patient satisfaction. Organized into Centers of Excellence, the new campus supports flexible expansion and efficient delivery of services. The ultimate master plan includes 1,300,000 square feet and 448 inpatient beds, yet is designed to a human scale to feel comforting and welcoming, with a special focus on Martha Jefferson’s “Caring Tradition.”

Evidence-based design, Lean operational improvement strategies and safety-centric planning are integrated throughout the design. The most significant planning solution created a Surgical and Interventional Procedural Center (SIPC), co-locating all major modalities as well as supporting services, prep and recovery beds. Central Sterile and bedded care are horizontally adjacent, minimizing staff and patient travel. The SIPC consolidation of eight previous departments into one maximizes flexibility for future expansion and accommodates fluctuations in volume or types of procedures over time, while creating physician and staff efficiencies and a streamlined “one stop” patient experience.