Williamson Medical Center Expansion of ER, OB and West Tower Addition

Modernizing and elevating Williamson Medi­cal Center’s patient units, the West Tower expansion creates 3 new floors above the existing 3-story West Tower and includes 6 new floors north of the existing West Tow­er footprint with 156 completed beds in what is the largest renovation and expansion project in the hospital’s history. The buildout includes 17 post-partum beds and reconfigures the existing pediatric unit to contain 10 specialized, pediatric beds.

The original theme reflects the history and culture of Franklin, Tenn. Current public spaces and a central, two-story Atrium echo the storefronts of downtown Franklin. The new tower continues this by using cast stone and masonry and standing seam metal roof ac­cents reflecting downtown and historic homes. The current two-story atrium expands to five stories serving as the patient floors’ central wayfinding node, as well as an interior daylight feature for all spaces facing the atrium.

SDG also provided design for the two previous major expansions to the hospital in 2007 and 2015.

Some of the improvements the expansion includes are:

· Expanding capacity in Adult ER from 28 beds to 43, including a secure 8-bed behavioral health pod;

· Expanding Obstetrics from 28 beds to 34, which includes creating separate rooms for labor/delivery and postpartum patients, adding an operating room for C-sections, and reconfiguring the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to include nine private bays;

· Adding additional floors and a north wing to the West Tower and renovating current floors to add a 22-bed observation unit as well as increased capacity in ICU/Stepdown and Medical/Surgical units;

· Renovations to patient rooms in the Main Tower to create more space for patients and their families.

Key goals for the project:

•    Integrate every floor for direct access to existing bed tower.

•    Stack new bed floors for direct vertical access to adult and peds emergency department (ED) units on first floor.

•    Provide direct linkage to clinical and ancillary support services on gronnd and first floors.

•    Implement Evidence-Based Design interven­tions to reduce infections, reduce patient falls, reduce medication errors, increase nurse/ staff satisfaction, retention and recruitment.

•    Become a beacon to the hospital campus for wayfinding access to all first-floor ED and ambulance entrances, below the bed tower levels.

Williamson Medical Center Healthcare Design Project Showcase August 2023