Falmouth, MA MEDCOM Architectural Group and Suffolk Construction have started renovations at Falmouth Hospital for a new 10-bed intensive care unit (ICU). The new unit is being constructed on the second floor of the hospital in the former Maternity Ward. The project encompasses 11,000 s/f, and has been thoughtfully designed to accommodate both patients and staff to deliver the highest level of care.

The new ICU has multiple nurse station, sited centrally for optimal visibility to the patient rooms. Additionally, each patient room has an observation workstation, and a window for direct patient observation. The patient rooms are very spacious filled with natural daylight, and boast modern finishes. Within the rooms are dedicated guest areas that will have a comfortable sleeper lounge affording family members a place to stay and be close to their loved ones. Each room is equipped with an overhead medical boom that allows complete 360° access to the patient eliminating repositioning of the bed or patient in the event of a crisis. The booms are equipped with the latest technology including; patient monitoring, medical gas, emergency power, and a patient lift.

“The ability for critical care nurses, physician intensivists, and other caregivers to visualize their patients was a high priority for the design team”, says Greg Siroonian, principal of Medcom Architectural Group. This focus on patient and family centered care shifts from paper charting to electronic medical recording, enabling the overall design of the ICU to change from a centralized nursing station design to decentralized work stations closer to the patient. This design will increase patient and staff safety.

CMTA, Inc. provided all of the mechanical and electrical engineering for the project. CMTA designed an innovative and unique HVAC system that enables the 10 patient rooms to operate in either normal patient mode or as negative pressurized isolation rooms. This will allow the hospital to properly care for patients during a pandemic and allows the hospital to be “surge ready” when the demand requires multiple isolation rooms to be available.

Suffolk Construction, the largest construction contractor in Massachusetts, and one of the 20 largest in the country, provided all the pre-construction services and is providing construction management services for the project. The project is scheduled for completion in June 2023.