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Woolpert , a Dayton, Ohio-based architecture, engineering, geospatial, and strategic consulting firm, has acquired Bermello Ajamil & Partners (BA; Miami, Fla.), a full-service architecture, engineering, planning, and landscape architecture firm. The deal enhances Woolpert’s ability to provide full architecture, engineering, and interior design services across a variety of markets and accelerates its growth in several sectors, including healthcare. For more news on Woolpert, go here .

Boca Raton Regional Hospital opened the Toby and Leon Cooperman Medical Arts Pavilion on its campus in Boca Raton, Fla. The 61,500-square-foot freestanding facility includes medical specialty clinics for orthopedics, urology, and colorectal care; physician offices; an ambulatory surgery center; and a parking garage. Nelson Worldwide (Minneapolis) was the designer and builder on the three-story facility.

Parkview Health (Fort Wayne, Ind.) has completed expansion of its Parkview Warsaw outpatient center into a full-service hospital called Parkview Kosciusko Hospital in Warsaw, Ind. The project involved adding 88,000 square feet to the existing 86,000-square-foot building The four-story hospital, which  offers inpatient and outpatient care, includes two operating rooms and two procedure rooms on the second floor, as well as areas for pre- and post-surgical care spaces. Additionally, temporary shell space is available to be converted into operating rooms or procedure rooms, depending on future demand. The third floor features an inpatient unit which can accommodate up to 28 patients with varying levels of care. The hospital plans to open with 12 beds, with more added as demand increases. The new hospital also comprises a café, administrative offices, and classrooms on the lower level.

As staff recruitment and retention remain major challenges in the healthcare industry, how can healthcare organizations ensure staff members feel safe in their work environments? This question has been a driving force behind design conversations in recent years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the rate of injuries from violent attacks against medical professionals grew by 63 percent from 2011 to 2018, and hospital safety directors say aggression against staff escalated as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified in 2020. In a 2022 survey by National Nurses United , the nation’s largest union of registered nurses, 48 percent of the more than 2,000 responding nurses reported an increase in workplace violence—more than double the percentage from a year earlier. Safety considerations were previously limited in large part to behavioral health units. However, because of an increase in mental health issues and violence in the general population in recent years, stronger safety consid

Philadelphia-based construction management firm LF Driscoll announced several recent staffing changes. Michael Dikon and Matthew Guinan have been elevated to vice presidents. Dikon, who has been with the firm for 18 years, has worked on projects for Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, as well as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Joining the firm two decades ago, Guinan has led the construction of more than $2.5 billion of healthcare projects, including work for both CHOP and Penn Medicine. Additionally, Michael Wolfe has re-joined the firm as vice president. Wolfe has been involved in several large-scale healthcare projects including St. Rose Dominican Hospital – San Martin Campus in Las Vegas, Phoenix Children’s Hospital (Phoenix), and University of California San Diego Jacobs Medical Center in San Diego.

Children’s Hospital Colorado Staff Lounge, Aurora, Colorado In need of a larger respite space for staff, Children’s Hospital Colorado (Aurora, Colo.) decided to renovate shell space into an expanded staff lounge into as part of the hospital’s commitment to the well-being of its staff. Working with SmithGroup (Denver), the project team led a series of visioning sessions and in-depth workshops with more than 40 physicians and surgeons. The design team then translated that feedback on staff wants and needs into a modern, light-filled space that’s designed to foster collaboration, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Updating healthcare staff spaces Located adjacent to the surgery platform, the new 3,400-square-foot lounge is more than triple the size of the old one. Designers utilized current wellness and workplace concepts to provide alternative spaces and flexibility within the lounge for users. For example, staff have a choice of collaboration or touchdown spaces as well as places to r

Sharp Rees-Stealy Otay Ranch Medical Center in San Diego has completed the first phase of a $86 million multiphase expansion. Opened in December 2023, the project included a new four-level parking garage with capacity for 610 vehicles. The next phase will add a two-story medical office building (MOB) with an urgent care center, advanced imaging technology, and expanded services. The project team includes HGW Architecture (architect and interior designer; San Diego) and DPR Construction (general contractor; San Diego).