New hospital gives itself room to grow

Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus replacement hospital serves a rapidly growing population in southern Delaware. The hospital’s previous 22-acre location was landlocked with no room to grow without disrupting the residential communities that surround it. By moving its main campus to a 165-acre greenfield site, the hospital was able to gain seven times more space.

The hospital was designed and delivered via integrated project delivery (IPD). Architecture firm CannonDesign and construction management company Whiting Turner used IPD to reduce waste and redundancies in the design process while increasing value — delivering the building five months earlier than comparable replacement hospital projects.

The overall design inspiration for the six-story hospital was inspired by southern Delaware’s natural landscape and its proximity to the ocean. This inspiration is found in the wave-like ripples on the exterior facade and on wood features throughout the interiors to emphasize the healing power of nature.

The 440,000-sf facility includes 128 private patient rooms, and an expansive emergency and trauma center that is triple the size of its previous facility and houses 30 patient bays including two trauma bays and a behavioral health suite. The hospital also includes a 70,000-square-foot outpatient center with an integrated cancer center as well as outpatient rehabilitation, surgery, diagnostic services and more.

“The project was a tremendous success because the team was such a success,” says Mike Metzing, vice president, corporate support services, Bayhealth. “The new campus is state of the art, delivered on time and on budget. IPD provided Bayhealth with greater value for the money invested. The team was wholly solution and outcome focused. The result: A legacy project designed and built to serve the health care needs of the people of central and southern Delaware for decades to come.”