Todd Buerger, AIA, BSA Design Inc., Indianapolis Eric S. Williams, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis Douglas P. Zipes, MD, Krannert Institute of Cardiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis Barb Peters, RN, BSN, Clarian Health, Indianapolis

For most of the past decade, American hospitals have been merging, partnering, or consolidating services in response to shrinking reimbursements and growing pressures to control healthcare costs. At the same time, more and more patients in the U.S. have developed cardiovascular disease. This has increased demand for sophisticated cardiovascular diagnostic and treatment services, a demand that will continue to grow as the baby boom generation ages. Against this backdrop, Indiana's largest hospital system, Clarian Health Partners Inc., set out in 1998 to consolidate the cardiovascular inpatient, outpatient, and research operations of its separate hospitals into one cohesive unit. The intent was clear and compelling: to create one place that patients, physicians, nurses, researchers, and technicians could go for all cardiovascular needs. The logistics of the project, however, were anything but simple. BSA Design Inc., the Indianapolis architecture and engineering firm commissioned by Clarian Health, was challenged with finding an economical, fast track solution that would make use of existing space in multiple buildings. Further, the solution needed to create an identifiable center at Clarian Health, helping the organization compete with freestanding heart hospitals being built by other healthcare systems in its core central Indiana marketplace. The resulting Clarian Cardiovascular Center, which opened in mid-2001, has accomplished those goals. The $30 million, 170,000-square-foot project offers valuable lessons to other design teams trying to help their hospital clients meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive healthcare market.

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