Douglas S. Wignall, AIA, NCARB Director, Central Region Healthcare Architecture HDR Architecture, Inc Omaha, Nebraska

Jim Bogan, CEO of Portage Health System in Hancock, Michigan had a vision for a healthcare delivery system in his community. His vision was far removed from reality. To achieve this vision, Bogan knew something had to be done. All of the classic symptoms were there: stagnant population growth, a depressed economy, and an outdated facility, which did not meet the needs of the community. To prevent the beginning of the end of Portage Health System, Bogan found an architectural firm to assist him in seeing his vision through to fruition. It is often thought that an architect is solely responsible for the vision of a project, when in reality, the most successful of projects are the ones where the vision is shared by both the client and the architect.

Outwardly the situation appeared bleak. The hospital was currently operating in a facility constructed in 1947 with little or no changes since. A large part of the population was made up of people over age 70, and slowly shrinking. This was the culminating effect of the end of an era. In the land where copper was once king, it was no more. The last of the copper mines had closed; income was cut off and people left in search of employment. The Hospital was now the largest employer in Hancock, and its a caregiver was now coupled with its responsibility on a civic level. It was a point of pride, garnering the spirit of the community and it had to respond. It needed to become a state-of-the-art healthcare provider with services, which would attract patients of all ages, capture the largest market share, and maintain a high level of efficiency profitability.

The existing hospital was a nine story 140,000 SF facility with floor plans that were virtually incompatible with current needs. The decision was to build a replacement facility that was designed to last another fifty years with little change. The hospital had built one new facility every 50 years since 1897, and saw no need in changing its approach. The hospital employed a group of doctors that were located in two separate and outdated medical office buildings on the campus. The goal was not only to bring this group of doctors within the confines of the new structure, but to attract many of the non-hospital based physicians throughout the community to the health system as well.