About the Project

CRGA Design recently designed the new University of Maryland Medical Center Upper Chesapeake Health (UMUCH) Ambulatory Surgery Center and Medical Office Building in Bel Air, Maryland. This project involved planning, design, and construction oversight of a 65,827-square-foot, four-story state of the art facility that serves to consolidate multiple services lines that were spread across numerous sites throughout the Harford County are to better serve the community.

The Ambulatory Surgery Center, located on the first floor, spans approximately 14,000 square feet and includes:

• 2 Specialty Operating Rooms (ORs)

• 1 Procedure Room

• Onsite Sterile Processing Unit

• 11 Prep/Recovery Rooms

• 4 Extended Stay Observation Rooms

• Open-Plan Outpatient Rehabilitation Space    

The Orthopedic, Hand, and Spine Institute, located on the second floor, occupies 16,000 square feet and features:

• State-of-the-Art Examination Rooms

• Light-Filled Treatment Areas

• Centralized Imaging Capabilities

• Specialized Design Features to support advanced rehabilitation and reconstructive services.  

Solution Approach
Planning began with a comprehensive assessment of needs associated with anticipated “day one”, as well as projected volumes for the new Ambulatory Surgery Center at the onset of a detailed programming exercise.  From there, the AE Team worked hand in hand with key clinical and administrative project stakeholders to test / validate concepts that would meet all programmatic and workflow requirements but would also be able to easily accommodate future needs.  To further validate the conceptual plans, the team brought in, and worked closely with, two third-party surgery center managers to gain valuable perspective and insight as the plans progressed.

With respect to the fit out of the 2nd floor, it was determined early on during the planning process that there was inherent synergy that could be capitalized on by combining the individual Ortho / Spine, Hand, and Plastics program within one clinical suite rather than to continue to treat them as individual entities.  This consolidation allowed the project to realize both efficiency of space and staff but required an overhaul of current state workflow practices that worked for all affected parties moving forward.

Caring Environment
The 23-hour Extended-Stay rooms located within the first floor ASC were designed with optimal patient care in mind. Given that patients undergoing elective surgery typically required monitoring and had limited mobility, each room provided direct access to an accessible toilet room to ensure easy access during their stay, while taking advantage of a quiet, off-stage, distraction free healing environment.

Adaptability for the Future
The ambulatory surgery center includes several flexible design components with plenty of room for future expansion, including space for two additional Operating Rooms and an additional Procedure Room as the surgery center program expands.

In addition, what was initially slated to be a three (3) story building to accommodate the proposed program was evaluated against long term system growth, budget constraints, construction market trends, and anticipated ROI with all indicators pointing toward a strategic value in developing the site to accommodate a 4th floor as currently constructed.  Ultimately it was determined that this forward-looking decision was in the best long-term interest of the facility.