Margulies Perruzzi Architects designs expansion of Spaulding Cape Cod

Sandwich, MA Margulies Perruzzi Architects (MPA) completed the expansion and renovation of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Cape Cod. MPA designed a two-story, 6,230 s/f addition and renovated 12,800 s/f in the existing 60-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital. The expansion of the 76,900 s/f hospital addresses space constraints, enhancing accessibility and preparing the hospital to meet projected demand for outpatient services as Cape Cod’s population ages.

As the Cape’s only rehabilitation hospital, Spaulding Cape Cod (SCC) provides advanced rehabilitation care to help people transition to home following illness, injury or surgery. It’s the only acute rehab provider on the Cape, and its hospital-based outpatient center includes an innovative array of specialty programs, including many serving the geriatric population. Cape Cod has one of the largest concentrations of senior citizens in the country, and the number of residents age 65 and older is predicted to more than double between 2015 and 2030. These residents will have increasing needs for rehabilitation services and Spaulding’s unique expertise as they age. Currently, SCC’s staff care for about 1,100 inpatients and provide more than 100,000 outpatient therapy and physician visits annually. With this expansion, SCC will increase its capacity to provide 80,000 additional therapy visits and 10,500 additional physician visits over the next five years.

“By bringing advanced rehab expertise to the Cape, Spaulding Cape Cod has made a unique contribution to the health of the community since opening 21 years ago,” said Maureen Banks, president of Spaulding Cape Cod. 

“Thanks to a beautiful and functional design, we have an enhanced environment of care. This vital resource will be able to meet our patients’ needs well into the future.”

The project expanded Spaulding’s physician services clinic by 33% and added two physician exam/treatment rooms and eight new outpatient therapy rooms, doubling the private treatment space and increasing Spaulding’s outpatient capacity to accommodate up to 21,000 more visits per year. A new, multi-purpose room on the first floor will be used for current and planned wellness and education programs and community-based support groups, and a quiet room gives nursing mothers or anxious children a private space to wait for appointments. On the inpatient unit, five treatment rooms were added and a patient/family resource room was created. MPA redesigned the reception area and expanded the lobby, registration, and waiting areas to enhance accessibility for patients with mobility impairments, provide private spaces for registration, and improve workflow. The reception area’s hospitality design includes a curved reception desk with two custom-height counters that allow patients to comfortably stand or sit in a wheelchair at registration.

The expansion and renovation of Spaulding Cape Cod was a complex, multi-phase project that required careful coordination among the clinical staff, design team, and contractors. Phased over 10 months, MPA worked closely with construction manager Columbia Construction Company to sequence construction work, permitting the hospital to maintain normal operations without impacting inpatient and outpatient care. First, the team completed the new entrance and reception “living room,” offering patients and families an exciting first impression and preview of improvements to come. With the completion of the new addition, programmatic elements were then moved to their new location, allowing the team to renovate as well as restore existing spaces to their original purpose. Spaulding Cape Cod communicated frequently with staff, patients and their families about what to expect with the renovation, an effort that resulted in a successfully received project.

Spaulding’s goal for the project was to enhance the patient experience through improvements to the inpatient and outpatient environments. MPA collaborated with Spaulding staff throughout the design process to incorporate workflow enhancements. The hospital’s Patient Family Advisory Council, as well as mobility-impaired patients, provided suggestions for improving the comfort and accessibility of the spaces.

“From the onset of our relationship, MPA understood our culture and goals, and they were very receptive to respecting our existing architecture and what makes us unique,” said Stephanie Nadolny, Spaulding Cape Cod’s vice president of hospital operations. “The designers at MPA listened, asked questions, and consulted our staff about how physical improvements to the hospital could enhance their patient care delivery. MPA’s thorough due diligence in understanding us as a healthcare provider contributed to the success of our expanded facility.”

The project team also included the owner’s project manager Colliers International, civil engineer BSC Group, M/E/P engineer Thompson Consultants, and structural engineer Odeh Engineering.