Known nationally for quality care, Prairie du Chien’s critical access hospital was more than 54 years old, during which time the facility underwent 11 renovations, leaving no room for expansion and making wayfinding difficult.

With a 100-acre donation on the city’s southern limit, hospital executives embarked on a community process to design a modern and forward-looking facility that elevated wellness along the side with care and the patient-family experience. BWBR-led focus groups with residents, area employers and staff led to a design the improved efficiencies, created intuitive wayfinding and departmental adjacencies, and created community connections that go beyond treating illness, including a community art gallery and expanded dining room and kitchen to promote nutrition and healthy living.

The new environment puts a premium on patient-family safety, privacy and comfort, resulting in a design custom-tailored to those who use the facility daily. The facility is organized around the on-stage/off-stage concept. Patient rooms feature three zones: A Patient-Family Zone with large windows, outdoor views, and in-room sleeping accommodations; A Patient Zone with in-board toilet that provides better privacy from corridor activities and a pleasant footwall design; and a Staff/Caregiver Zone providing a work area near the patient that incorporates easy patient access, puts supplies and equipment at arm’s reach, and creates little overlap with the family area.

Click to see BWBR’s award-winning video from the I Look Up Challenge.

Click to see how BWBR worked with 4^th-graders in Prairie du Chien to design a new hospital.