Memorial Medical Center

Surgery Addition and Remodel

A nurse walks between the pre-post rooms and the nurses station in the MMC Ashland Surgery Center
Patients and visitors enter through the main lobby of the surgery center, with a large painting done by a local Native American artist
People talk in the waiting room outside of the MMC Ashland Surgery Center. Low privacy dividers and wrap-around floor to ceiling windows keep patients and visitors comfortable
Surgeons work inside the robotic OR in the MMC Ashland Surgery Center. A surgery robot is stored inside a small
A nurse walks through the MMC Ashland Surgery Center PACU. Patients beds are divided by privacy curtains and are close to staff spaces
A view from inside a pre-post room into the corridor and nurse station in the MMC Ashland Surgery Center. Nature themed adhesive coats the sliding doors and gives privacy
One of the pre-post rooms in the MMC Ashland Surgery Center. The walls are painted a bright blue and wood tone cabinets complete the room
A nurse works at the HUC desk in the MMC Ashland endoscopy department
An MMC Ashland staff member works in the sterile prep space in the Surgery Center
An overall exterior view of the MMC Ashland Surgery Center. The glass-enclosed waiting room sits above the main patient drop-off and entry

Memorial Medical Center

Surgery Addition and Remodel

Ashland, Wis.

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.

Size: 72,800 sq. ft.

Components: Sterile processing department; new surgical space with seven operating rooms and four endoscopy suites; surgery consult spaces; 24 pre-post rooms, including a six-bed post-acute care unit; robotic operating room; a welcoming patient drop-off zone

Completion: 2021