AHN Forbes Hospital
Emergency Department & Elevator Tower Addition

CONNECT

After a tragic school stabbing event at Franklin Regional High School, Forbes Hospital identified patient transport as a primary concern. Movement of patients between the facility’s critical care units happens in a vertical manner. The hospital had no patient-dedicated elevators that could provide direct connection between the Emergency Department, the Surgery Department, the Intensive Care Unit, Labor and Delivery, as well as other units. In a place where every second matters, a new elevator tower project was conceived to transform the vertical flow in the hospital.

TRANSFORM

Recently expanded to offer the latest medical innovation and procedures, Forbes Hospital is a 349-bed facility with 15,000 inpatient admissions 12,000 surgeries, and nearly 50,000 emergency department visits annually. Spurred by the increased competition in the geographic market conditions with the opening of a new acute care hospital in the area, Forbes Hospital sought a visible indicator that their facility reflected the state of the art medical expertise that was available within. The elevator tower became that opportunity for an iconic image.

The use of clear and bronze anodized metal as an element on the building’s façade introduces a departure from the traditional, buff brick that comprises the majority of the surface area of the existing hospital. Bronze panels that match the color of the window frames of the existing building help to make a subtle connection. The new Emergency Department, with full transparent glazing into the waiting area and a deep overhang for patient drop-off, signifies a new contemporary entrance sequence for visitors to the hospital.