Challenge
Presence Health (now part of AMITA Health) operated Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago's vibrant Lakeview neighborhood, a hospital dating back to the 1960s. Presence identified the need to expand its ambulatory services to better serve the needs of its community and remain competitive. Presence owned a small site adjacent to its existing hospital where it wanted to build a new, cutting-edge ambulatory facility that would not only revitalize its campus but also aid in the recruitment of new physicians.
As Presence began planning for its new ambulatory project, it faced challenges typical of projects in urban environments, such as the need for convenient parking and the importance of minimizing disruption caused by construction. Additional challenges included the need for a physical connection between the new ambulatory care center (ACC) and the existing hospital.
Solution
Presence engaged Hammes to serve as developer and owner of the new ACC. Presence felt that engaging a third-party developer allowed for better control of overall project costs, allowing cost savings to be used to enhance the patient experience.
Hammes assisted Presence with its physician recruitment strategy in order to attract new physicians that would provide a complementary range of ambulatory services from the new facility.
The Hammes team developed a plan that would alleviate public concerns about potential disruption caused during the construction of the new facility. The plan included establishing hours during which construction was prohibited and installing off-site monitors to track vibration so local residents were not disturbed. The team met regularly with the alderman and Presence officials to provide updates throughout the project.
The AMITA Health Outpatient Pavilion includes three floors of enclosed parking, three floors of medical office space and three floors of ambulatory services. Services include a comprehensive, multi-specialty cancer center; a musculoskeletal institute and disease management centers.
A sky-bridge connects the AMITA Health Outpatient Pavilion to the existing hospital, with its lobby serving as the hospital's "new front door." The lobby was built to high occupancy standards so cancer patients and hospital transports to the LINAC can enter through the new facility.
With the addition of new medical office space, the hospital gained the ability to expand service lines and therefore attract new, top-tier physicians. With ambulatory and acute care space seamlessly connected, physicians can see both outpatients and inpatients without having to travel to multiple sites. Likewise, residents of Chicago's Lakeview community and beyond benefit from greater access to a wide range of medical specialties from a single, convenient location.
