E4H Environments for Health Architecture, a top-ranked architecture firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, has been selected to design Ellis Medicine’s Facility Master Plan.  Ellis Medicine, which features a 438-bed hospital in Schenectady, NY, will study siting solutions for the reorganization of the entire campus.

Following a recent Emergency Department expansion and addition of a new parking structure at Ellis Hospital, Ellis Medicine issued a Request for Proposals for a Facility Master Plan to identify how it should evolve to meet changing healthcare needs and requirements, specifically on its main campus. E4H Architecture was selected for its deep healthcare experience, collaborative planning process, and Lean operational mindset. Headquartered in Burlington, VT, with five locations nationwide, E4H Architecture has completed over 100 master planning projects for healthcare facilities and systems.

“Our team is known for developing master plans that enable hospitals to modernize and innovate to best serve the changing needs of patients,” said Bill Repichowskyj, Partner at E4H Architecture. "We’re confident that the comprehensive road map we create will incorporate patients’ most pressing healthcare needs and optimize the facility for long-term utilization, positioning Ellis Medicine to better deliver high-quality patient care with successful health outcomes.”

Using evidence-based design and workflow consulting, E4H Architecture’s Ellis Hospital Facility Master Plan will incorporate designs for:

· A new Main Entrance that is reflective of the Ellis Medicine brand and values while welcoming patients and enhancing their experience

· Converting all semi-private patient rooms to private rooms while maintaining current bed count

· Optimizing departmental and service locations for flexibility and future growth

· Replacing the existing 700-car parking structure with a new structure that would hold 1,150 cars

“As a health system, when you take on a project like this, you need more than a good architect or designer. We needed a collaborative partner who understands the workflow and patient population challenges and one who can offer solutions that work with the resources we have right now. With E4H we’ve found that, as well as a shared vision for the future of Ellis Medicine’s main campus,” said Ellis Medicine CEO Paul Milton.

E4H Architecture’s project team will begin with a four-week needs assessment and facility survey, reviewing patient and employee data as well as the physical condition of the buildings. Over the course of the following six weeks, architects will perform a program assessment to explore existing services and identify departmental initiatives using highly interactive planning tools. E4H designers will then lead a 12-week creative discovery of facility options using a two-team approach to generate multiple original design options. These options will be presented to the hospital team through the firm’s proprietary SmartDesign software, allowing for interactive virtual reality sessions to review and modify options in real-time and build consensus. E4H Architecture will deliver its final report in December 2017, outlining the programmatic assessment and proposed solutions for the reorganization of the campus.

For more information, visit www.e4harchitecture.com.