SwedishAmerican, a division of UW Health, was struggling with recruiting and retaining the very best staff. Seeking a fresh set of eyes and proven innovation, SwedishAmerican called on Kahler Slater to guide them toward a better tomorrow. Our team, partnered with PG Architecture, facilitated a design process that began with a deep dive into the current challenges and looking at how future success for SwedishAmerican would be defined. The formula for success: a transformative patient and provider experience coupled with an efficiency tough to find in large academic medical centers. Once SwedishAmerican’s high-quality care model was overlaid, a winning solution included innovations such as an integrated care team model in an off-stage collaboration space for clinical staff, as well as dual access exam rooms, and patient self-rooming. Time and motion studies explored the way patients and staff arrive and flow, caregiver interaction with patients, and even the arrival and distribution of supplies.

As patients and providers approach the campus from the highway, they are greeted with a gracious building situated alongside an idyllic lake with walking paths, announcing a new point-of-view around health and wellness. Women’s health, internal medicine, pediatrics, and podiatric programming have been created with an integrated care experience. Diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, and an education center provide a one-stop-shop and highly efficient model of care for patients and providers alike.