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Connectingcorridors

flanking thehospital’smain entrylead to theRobert F.ThomasMedical

Office Build-ing and theDolly PartonCenter forWomen’sServices.

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PROJECT OVERVIEWPROJECT NAME: LeConte

Medical CenterLOCATION: Sevierville, Tenn. TOTAL FLOOR AREA (IN SQUARE

FEET): Hospital (194,940);Medical Office Building(30,627); Women’s Center(32,285); and Cancer Center(16,125)

NUMBER OF FLOORS: ThreeNUMBER OF BEDS: 79PROJECT COST: $115 millionCONSTRUCTION COST: $74.8

millionGROUNDBREAKING: May 2007OPENING: February 2010

PROJECT TEAMOWNER: Covenant HealthARCHITECT: BarberMcMurry

architects (architect ofrecord) and Earl SwenssonAssociates Inc. (health caredesign consultant)

GENERAL CONTRACTOR:Rentenbach Constructors Inc.

INTERIOR DESIGNER: EarlSwensson Associates Inc.

MEP ENGINEERING: I.C.Thomasson Associates Inc.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING:KSi Structural Engineers

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PLAN-NING: Balfour ResourceGroup

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:Smith Seckman Reid Inc.

FOOD SERVICE DESIGN: InmanAssociates Inc.

PHARMACY DESIGN: MMI Systems

LABORATORY DESIGN: ScottLaboratories Inc.

Lodge-like facility delivers advanced care Article by Amy Eagle • Photos by Kyle Dreier Photography

‘MOUNTAIN MODERN’Ellen Wilhoit, FACHE, president and chief administrative

officer of LeConte Medical Center, Sevierville, Tenn.,calls the design of the medical center’s replacement hos-

pital “Mountain Modern.” Sevierville is located at the edge ofGreat Smoky Mountains National Park in an area of rustic natu-ral beauty. The design includes indigenous stone, wood andwood-look materials that give the hospital a lodge sensibilitysuitable to its mountain home, and a contemporary, sophisticat-ed polish reflective of advanced medical care. “We wanted tocreate a new, really positive image” that goes beyond the med-ical center’s small community hospital roots, Wilhoit says.

The new medical campus includes a hospital, women’s center,medical office building (MOB) and cancer center. It was designedthrough a collaborative effort of BarberMcMurry architects, Knox ville,Tenn., and Earl Swensson Associates Inc. (ESa), Nashville, Tenn. »

BarberMcMurry architectstook the lead role in designingthe women’s center and MOB,while ESa led the functionalplanning and design of the hos-pital and cancer center.

Convenient flowThe hospital’s main entranceopens onto a two-story lobbyfeaturing the same naturalstone used on the building’sexterior. Wood-look laminatecolumns and resin panelswith birch accents add to thenatural feel.

“The surrounding area isjust beautiful. We wanted tobring in those types of materi-als, the stone and the wood,”says Jennifer Satterfield, IIDA,LEED AP, interior designer,ESa. A palette of soothingblue, green and terra cottaenhances the natural lookthroughout the hospital.

The lobby rotunda featuresa custom light fixture of con-temporary design centeredabove a medallion pattern inthe flooring. A reception desk,gift shop, dining area andchapel all are located near theentrance. “Everything for thepublic [is] right there at theirfingertips,” says Satterfield.

Enclosed walkways off eachside of the entry lead to thewomen’s center and MOB. Tothe right of the main lobby,there is a diagnostic waitingarea for imaging and relatedservices; to the left, is the sur-gical waiting room.

Patients are processed andescorted to the appropriatecare area according to a spe-cific flow pattern. The designis meant to separate public,patient and staff circulationroutes to minimize cross traf-fic, explains Harold Petty, AIA,director of medical design andESa’s principal-in-charge onthe project.

Expanded, efficient careThe hospital expects to see50,000 patients in the emer-gency department (ED) thisyear, with about one-third of

them being tourists at thenational park and nearbytowns of Gatlinburg andPigeon Forge.

At the previous hospital, thevolume of emergency carewas about 40,000 patients peryear in an ED built for 17,000.“That was one of the key rea-sons we needed a new facili-ty,” Wilhoit says.

In addition to being larger,the new ED has private treat-ment rooms for increased con-fidentiality, safety, securityand comfort. A decontamina-tion area addresses the newerthreat of bioterrorism.

The ED is laid out for effi-cient patient flow. “Well-defined paths separate peoplecoming in from people comingout,” explains Craig Holloway,AIA, ESa project manager.Adjacent surgery and radiolo-gy departments enablepatients to be moved swiftly toeither area. A patient transportelevator located just outsidethe ED facilitates transfers tothe intensive care unit.

The emergency, surgery andradiology departments arepositioned on the periphery ofthe first floor to allow futureexpansion of any of thesedepartments without compro-mising other areas.

Medical-surgical careThe facility’s patient units arearranged in two L-shapedwings with a central elevatorhub and support core.

The support core includesphysician dictation roomsand similar staff workspaces,as well as secure medicationstorage and dispensing. Abusiness station is located oneach side of the elevator coreto provide a work area for theunit secretary and such sup-port members of the hospitalcare team as dieticians andtherapists. There is a decen-tralized nurse station andsupply area in each patientunit wing.

For additional privacy, thepatient rooms feature inboard

The replacement facility at LeConte MedicalCenter, Sevierville, Tenn., is located directlyacross the street from the previous hospital

building on 70 acres that give the medical center sub-stantially more room for expansion than its former,landlocked 13-acre site.

“By East Tennessee standards, it’s a pretty flatsite,” says Mike Driskill, AIA, LEED AP, project manag-er, BarberMcMurry architects. The Sevierville area, inthe foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is gener-ally hilly, but the former manufacturing site was“unusually friendly” to construction, Driskill says.

Design architect Earl Swensson Associates Inc.positioned the hospital to take advantage of viewsavailable from the site. The front entry is orientedtoward nearby Mount LeConte. The hospital tower isdesigned to allow views of mountains or the local air-port from every patient room. The infusion treatmentarea of the medical center’s freestanding cancer cen-ter also features mountain views.

During construction, the builders erected on-sitemock-ups of the hospital’s exterior walls to test differ-ent materials. The roughly 10-by-12-foot wall sectionsincluded as many exterior details — such as windowsand copings — as possible to determine the bestselections, says Driskill. He adds the project’s detail-ing changed significantly as a result of what the teamlearned from the mock-up walls.

Cast-stone copings were changed to a metal mate-rial of the same color that cost less, was easier toinstall and looks the same from ground level. Theoriginal design also called for a local, rounded riverrock in place of the indigenous cut stone used in thefinal building. Driskill says trying to build with riverrock to achieve both aesthetically pleasing and water-tight results proved difficult. “The change we made inthe stone was particularly beneficial,” he says. �

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Lighting provides a softened accent to both the entrycanopy and the natural stone utilized on the exterior,which is indigenous to the East Tennessee region.

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CLEAR DIRECTION

Visibility of the pub-lic elevator as wellas waiting andreception areas

enhances wayfindingimmediately uponentering the lobby.

Hospital takes cues from its surroundings

The hospital facility at LeConte Medical Centeris flanked by the Dolly Parton Center forWomen’s Services and the Dr. Robert F.

Thomas Professional Building. Thomas served as aminister and physician in Sevier County, Tenn., wherethe hospital is located, for many years beginning in1926; country music star Parton was among themany area babies he delivered. The hospital founda-tion, for which Parton serves as honorary chair, alsois named for Thomas.

The Thomas and Parton buildings are connected tothe hospital by corridors that lead off the main lobby.The services in these buildings do not require thesame institutional occupancy level of constructionnecessary for inpatient care. Locating these servicesin buildings designed for business occupancy “savedquite a bit of money,” says Mike Driskill, AIA, LEED AP,project manager, BarberMcMurry architects.

The two facilities are nearly identical in size andexterior design, featuring the same materials asthose of the hospital. The lobby finishes of eachbuilding also are used in the hospital’s main lobby tocreate a seamless transition. Services offered in thewomen’s building include mammography, biopsy, bonedensity exams and a sleep disorder center. Physicianoffices are located in the professional building.

The medical campus also includes a freestandingcancer care facility, the Thompson Cancer SurvivalCenter, that provides infusion and radiation therapyservices. Previously, area patients had to travel aboutan hour each direction for this type of treatment,according to Ellen Wilhoit, FACHE, hospital presidentand chief administrative officer. Wilhoit says a youngwoman recently thanked her for the new center’s con-struction and said the time saved by local treatmenthad enabled her to keep her job. “That was just verygratifying to know that we do make an impact in somany ways,” says Wilhoit. �

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The health unit coordinator station of the Dolly Parton birthing unitfeatures a photograph of its benefactor, while birch twigs sand-wiched within composite inlay panels grace the front of the desk.

SPEC SHEETPRINCIPAL DESIGN MATERIALS Carpet and carpet tile: Shaw Ceiling:Armstrong World Industries Curtainwall framing: Kawneer Door hard-ware: Dorma and Ingersoll Rand Doors: Ideal Door (plastic laminate)Flooring: American Biltrite (vinyl plank and stone non-wax), ArmstrongWorld Industries (sheet vinyl and vinyl composition tile) and Teknoflor(wood-look vinyl) Glass: Tempered Glass Inc. Lighting: ChallengerLighting Company Inc. (custom pendant and sconces) Millwork: John-sonite Paint: Sherwin-Williams Co. Plumbing accessories: SymmonsIndustries Inc. Plumbing fixtures: Bradley Corp. and Zurn IndustriesQuartz surfaces: Cambria Resin panels: 3form Inc. Roofing: FirestoneBuilding Products Signage: Signcraft Inc. Tile: Crossville Inc. Wallcoverings: Eykon and Maharam Wall protection: Spectrim BuildingProducts Window treatments: MechoShade Systems Inc. PRINCIPALFURNISHINGS Cafeteria seating: Steve Ward & Associates Inc. Cafe -teria tables: Symphony Tables Casework: Case Systems Inc., DuPontand Wilsonart International Conference tables: JSJ Corp. and KimballInternational Office desks, files and shelving: Kimball InternationalLounge and patient room seating: Legacy Furniture Group Inc. Officeseating: Chromcraft Contract Patient beds: Stryker Patient over-bedtables: Amico Patient Care Equipment Woodworking: Marlite andRulon Co. MAJOR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT Computed tomography, magnet-ic resonance imaging, radiography/fluoroscopy and radiology equip-ment: GE Healthcare INFRASTRUCTURE Boilers: Cleaver-Brooks Build-ing management system: Johnson Controls Chillers: McQuay Interna-tional Clocks: Primex Wireless Electrical equipment: Square D bySchneider Electric Elevators: ThyssenKrupp Elevator Fire safety:Notifier by Honeywell International Inc. Generator: Caterpillar HVAC(misc.): Envirco, McQuay International, Ruskin Co. and Titus Pneu -matic tube system: Swisslog

Information provided by BarberMcMurry architects, Earl Swensson Associates Inc.,LeConte Medical Center and Rentenbach Constructors Inc.

toilets that provide a bufferbetween the patient bed andthe corridor, says Holloway.The design also allows for larg-er exterior windows to maxi-mize views and natural light.

Laminate panels, designedwith input from hospital staff,improve the look and func-tionality of the headwall inthe patient rooms.

The custom-built units werea “relatively low-cost item,”Holloway says, that “add a lot of warmth to the room as well as provide an opportu -nity to organize a lot of the

chaos that’s typically on theheadwall.”

Rather than place a nursingcomputer on an ergonomicarm, the team designed a nar-row cabinet about six inchesdeep that can be closed andlocked to store the computersecurely and essentially outof sight.

Medical missionAccording to Wilhoit, the facil-ity is attracting new physi-cians, including some whopractice in specialties the hos-pital previously had not been

able to offer. She credits muchof the success of the project tothe support of the hospital’sfoundation and CovenantHealth, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based, community-ownedhealth system that includesLeConte Medical Center.

“Most hospitals our sizewouldn’t have the facility wehave without these extraresources,” Wilhoit says.

Holloway, who — like sever-al members of the projectteam — has family in theSevierville area who use thishospital, is grateful for the

opportunity to serve patientsthrough design.

He says, “We may not beable to be there on a dailybasis ministering to peopleand being a part of that med-ical mission … but we can cre-ate spaces that allow peopleto do that work.” HFM

Amy Eagle is a freelance writer

based in Homewood, Ill., who spe-

cializes in health care-

related topics. She is

a regular contributor

to Health Facilities

Management.

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