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Building Design for Animals
A Look Back: Noah’s Westside Animal Hospital
Dr. Mike Thomas has been a friend and client of BDA's for many years. His veterinary hospitals are some of the finest in Indiana and in 2018 his team and BDA took home a Veterinary Hospital Design Competition Merit Award for Noah’s Westside Animal Hospital in Speedway, Indiana.
Designed as a replacement facility for an aging existing hospital, this new contemporary and sophisticated modern hospital replaced the old clinic and expanded the service offerings beyond the general practice. Noah's Westside Animal Hospital is a new, two-story facility that is actually two hospitals in one; a general practice and a specialist and emergency/critical care facility. Each practice has its own entrance and its own waiting and check-in reception desk for the client facing side, while behind the scenes they share personnel, resources and clinical spaces.
The specialty and emergency entrance is covered by a porte cochere, offering protection for client and patient unloading in front of the hospital, while the general practice has a covered entry thanks to the uniquely designed second floor overhang. The separate waiting areas have individual access hallways which connect them to an exam room core with 5 ER/specialty exam rooms and 6 general practice exam rooms. These exam rooms were designed for flexibility, able to serve either practice when needed.
The 7-table treatment area is centrally located on the medical side surrounded by the procedures rooms, clinical spaces and patient housing areas. Procedures rooms include 3 surgery suites, a dental suite, special procedures room and space for a future CT. Housing includes separate canine and feline wards, two separate isolation rooms with a connecting ante room, and an intensive care unit. Overlooking the entire treatment area is an elevated glass enclosed 'control room' which allows DVMs and technicians to observe patients and activities in the treatment room while handling other matters such as client call backs, test result evaluations or writing records while in a quiet environment. Finally, a connected lab and pharmacy and a phone room finish out the first-floor clinical spaces.
On the second floor, accessible by stair and elevator, is a dedicated oncology room for diagnostics and treatments. The second floor is also pet boarding, with glass enclosed runs and an outdoor rooftop terrace with artificial grass for use as a walk/exercise space, and grooming. The upstairs space has admin staff support spaces including offices, the staff lounge (which opens to an outdoor terrace for staff use) and a large training/conference room.
From the start the final design goal was for implementation of patient health and wellness to be integral to the design. Evidence-Based design was incorporated into this facility in many ways. Through the use of windows and borrowed light techniques natural daylight is brought into the hospital to support staff wellbeing and patient wellness and healing. Clear sightlines are maintained throughout the facility for improved patient monitoring and care. Workstations were designed with ergonomic considerations. Natural spaces including the rooftop terraces provide a recharge space for staff to help combat burnout and mental exhaustion. The lobby and waiting areas are welcoming to clients with soothing colors, comfortable furniture and hospitality bars. And, thoughtfully designed environmental systems and acoustical zones provide comfort and pathogen, odor and noise control throughout the hospital.
Every square foot of this site and building was utilized so that Noah's Westside Animal Hospital could provide the most services and highest quality of care to their clients. With two practices in one, Dr. Thomas and his doctors and staff can provide a full-spectrum of care to their patients while working in a positive, functional and efficient environment.
Read the Merit Award featurette dvm360 did on Noah's Westside Animal Hospital: The ark of efficiency
