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OCTOBER 2018 | 75 Emergency Department – Dauphin Regional Health Centre RENDERING COURTESY FT3 ARCHITECTURE LANDSCAPE INTERIOR DESIGN Emergency Department – Dauphin Regional Health Centre by ROBIN BRUNET A project development schedule that sees a construction contract awarded in February of 2017, a relocation of services by November of that year, and the new facility already enclosed by September of 2018, would be considered fairly fast-tracked by any measure. However, considering the project in question is a new emergency depart- ment for the Dauphin Regional Health Center (DRHC) in Manitoba, which is targeting a completion date of spring of 2019, the fact that the creation of this complex facility is proceeding smoothly is a testament not only to the skills of Horizon Builders Ltd., but also the close collaboration between own- ers Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) and ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design. Blaine Kraushaar, communica- tions co-ordinator for Prairie Mountain Health, explains the need for the new facility. "Dauphin is one of two regional centres within PMH, and it is the sec- ond largest health centre in terms of service volumes in the health region, behind Brandon," he says. "The critical need was to redevelop and enhance the space required for a modern day emer- gency department, because the original layout of the ED area was extremely cramped and posed several challenges." The DRHC project consists of the creation of a temporary emergency, and renovation and expansion of the original location to include: an enclosed ambulance garage; resusci- tation/trauma care room; treatment, exam, and observation rooms; decon- tamination room; special care unit for extended emergency care of patients; support space; and finally a new main entry to the health centre, including a new driveway. Jerald Peters, principal at ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design, says intense planning was essential for the relatively trouble-free delivery of the new emergency depart- ment, "especially considering that emergency departments in rural areas tend to do way more than their coun- terparts in urban areas: people from outlying areas come to these facilities for tests and wind up in emergency, for example. So the operational challenges of Dauphin are considerable and had to be thoroughly understood." Fortunately, the architects (as well as Horizon) had worked with PMH in the past. "Ft3 was the architectural firm retained on our MRI addition," says Brian Will, director of capital and infrastructure at PMH. "Also, prior to regionalization with PMH, they were the firm who designed the Swan Valley Health Centre in Swan River." Horizon completed many small projects for the Region prior to being retained for this project. If the construction process for the new emergency department is relatively rapid, the planning behind it stretched back to late 2009, when a role study was completed by P3 Architecture and Laurence Thompson Strategic Consulting. "This was the initial step in a thorough review of the challenges and opportunities for improvement within the DRHC," says Kraushaar. "The study reviewed physical layout/space of the facility and how integration of services and improved patient flow could be enhanced into the future." Peters, whose firm was retained in 2013, agrees this was a critical process. "Essentially, thanks to the input of the DRHC staff who participated in the role study, we were able to produce flow diagrams of their movements, which could then be improved by introducing design ideas." For example, ft3, along with Jon Huddy (formerly of FreemanWhite Catalyst), came up with the idea of designing multiple sub waiting rooms instead of a single large one, each located within different treatment departments. "That way patients would go directly to the specific places they needed to go, thus moving them for- ward and reducing steps," says Peters. Ft3 also developed an open concept emergency department "whereby the nursing staff could see all the exam rooms from their station, which would greatly reduce support issues," says Peters. Even the exam rooms were devel- oped with efficiency in mind. "Instead of the patient oriented with his head to the far wall of the room, as is the tra- dition in hospitals, we positioned the exam bed on the side of the room, thus reducing the number of steps the doc- tor must take to reach the patient – and we placed the visitors' zone on the far side to keep them out of the way of staff," says Peters. Efficient design extended to exte- rior elements, such as a more access friendly and welcoming patient drop off, and a new main entrance (with improved pedestrian access) with ded- icated entrances for both the DRHC and the emergency department. Ft3 and the owners were also mind- ful of the benefits of natural light in health care: the inclusion of a large clerestory and selective use of glaz- ing would provide a dramatic increase in the amount of natural light entering the new space. Although the design work was focused on programming, there was still room for architectural expres- sion: "We're using a unique treatment of brick for the cladding, whereby it tapers outwards going up the building, to create interesting shadows and tex- tures," says Peters. The challenges facing Horizon have been numerous, starting with the creation of a temporary emergency department. "It was very important to minimize the disruption to how the public seek access to our health centre," says Will. "As a result, 4,000 square feet of ground floor space immediately adjacent to the main entrance [in an area previously occu- pied by administrative offices] was converted to a fully functional emer- gency department." This was followed by the demolition of the existing emer- gency department. Due to the tight schedule, as well as a tight work site combined with the complexity of construction, Horizon followed no less than seven phases of construction and renovation, and as of September the extended facility was closed in, brick work was being under- taken, and interior finishes were being installed. The last phase will be the demolition and redevelopment of the entire front entrance. Although he is cautious about pre- dicting the outcome of this ambitious project, Peters echoes the sentiments of his colleagues when he says, "So far, everything is proceeding beyond expectations, and the new emergency department taking shape is very excit- ing to observe. That's what happens when you work for great owners, as well as talented trades and subtrades." A LOCATION 623 3rd Street SW, Dauphin, Manitoba OWNER/DEVELOPER Prairie Mountain Health ARCHITECT ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design GENERAL CONTRACTOR Horizon Builders Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd. MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMS Engineering Ltd. EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT CONSULTANT FreemanWhite Catalyst TOTAL SIZE 9,411 square feet (expanded area) TOTAL COST $23 million 9:56 AM 1:39 PM 2:19 PM

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