Memorial Medical Center, a top-ranked Critical Access Hospital in northern Wisconsin, engaged BWBR to design a major surgery and sterile processing addition and renovation — the first project of an ongoing BWBR-designed master expansion plan. Project goals included creating capacity for growing surgery needs; enhancing sterile flow of people, instrumentation, equipment, and supplies (both sterile and soiled); and introducing high-tech features to create the most advanced surgical care in the region.

The new addition became a new entrance to the existing campus for surgery, as well as accommodating patient discharge. The surgery addition includes 24 pre-post rooms, a six-bay PACU unit, nursing areas, and other support spaces. For patient movement, BWBR incorporated one-way flow into the design. The operating room suite includes seven ORs: two smaller ORs accommodate specialty cases, four ORs accommodate typical cases, and one OR houses advanced robotics. The new procedure suite features a sterile central core concept that is wrapped by high-tech operating rooms and has direct access from the sterile processing department (SPD) below. Three endoscopy procedure rooms and one endo/ERCP procedure room are aided by dedicated support space and direct access to pre-post rooms.

A component of the two-story project is a reimagined SPD that increases the department’s footprint by 2,000 s.f. The SPD includes better staff facilities and a streamlined processing flow of instruments, carts, and supplies, as well as increased through-put capacity. The new department layout also incorporates endoscopy processing with a separate processing area and pass-through equipment, as well as multiple instrument and container processing lines that make sure there is strict one-way flow and reduce the potential for human error. To improve staff amenities, new locker rooms and a break room were located directly below the surgical suite to allow for staff to find a place of respite.