UNMH Pediatric Care Center
Albuquerque, NM
UNMH contracted with Design Plus to develop a feasibility study to renovate 4,800 sqft of the lobby, registration, triage, exam rooms, nurses stations, supporting offices, storage, etc. for the Pediatric Clinic in the Ambulatory Care Center on UNMH main campus. The clinic is comprised of the Pediatric Urgent Care, Well Children and Specialty clinics that serve over 100 patients a day during peak seasons.
The spaces that needed to be renovated were dispersed throughout the clinic floor with potential disruption to most clinic areas. All 3 clinics had to remain operational during construction and there was very little flexibility due to low ceiling space for HVAC, electrical, and fire protection systems and post-tension concrete slab construction. The Design Plus Team developed construction sequencing using 3 major phases and 4 sub-phases. We also incorporated DIRTT “Smart Component” construction wall system with integrated “plug and play” power, data, and medical gas systems. The use of this system eliminated the longer time, dust, and other contaminants generated by “wet” construction. The dust-free and pre-finished nature of this system allowed for an easy transition between construction phases.
We also utilized DIRTT’s material capacity to create an integrated way-finding and patient experience strategy. We created story-book themed custom illustration which were printed on writable glass to engage, distract, and comfort patients and siblings. These surfaces are impervious and easy to disinfect. These graphics are also used to create room signage and way-finding throughout the clinic’s maze-like hallways to guide patients and their families.
