Purpose
Mercy Health System of Maine has initiated a two-phase plan to relocate in Portland, Maine, to a 42-acre waterfront site. Phase I involves the partial move of surgical, obstetrical and imaging services. The Phase I hospital, in a five-story building overlooking the Fore River at the south end of Portland, reinforces Mercy’s mission of service to the community, while the highly visible and easily accessible location establishes it as a new city landmark.
Location
175-195 Fore River Parkway
Portland, Maine 04102
Mercy history
Mercy Hospital was created in response to an influenza epidemic that devastated
Portland in 1918. The Sisters of Mercy responded to the crisis by starting what has become a long-cherished tradition: the delivery of clinically excellent, compassionate health care for all, with special concern for the poor and disadvantaged.
The current hospital facility was erected in 1943 on State Street, had a major addition in 1952, and was then renovated in the 1980s. However, the many new challenges Mercy faces today, such as a growing population and dramatically different medical technologies, have exceeded the capabilities of this original facility. The relocation to modern facilities on a new campus, whose master plan accommodates a more than 50 percent increase of the hospital and the construction of an adjacent medical office building, allows Mercy to continue its standard of healthcare excellence while preserving its mission.
Site
Situated on 42 acres along the Fore River tidal basin, the new Mercy Hospital campus is a rehabilitated former industrial site. The site plan includes a walking trail system designed around an existing pond, a bicycle path that follows the river’s edge, and a new road (Fore River Parkway) that is integrated with both the project site and the Portland Trails system.
Description The master plan, completed by the hospital in collaboration with Francis Cauffman Architects, includes a 350,000-square-foot replacement hospital that will be built in two phases:
Phase I: The first phaseopened September 22, 2008. It includes two principal components:
· a 151,000-square-foot short stay hospital for ambulatory surgery, some inpatient surgery, maternity services, and imaging services.
· an 80,000-square-foot medical office building where, among other practices and services, Mercy will house its Breast Health and Oncology/Hematology programs.
The site development also provides surface parking, internal roads and service access.
Phase II: The second phase will be a new building that contains the emergency department, medical inpatient services, additional surgery suites, Critical Care Unit, and acute beds.
Fore River Medical Office Building
The four-story building contains multiple physician practice suites that range in size from 900 to 4,000 square feet, and approximately 42,000 square feet of space for Mercy Hospital outpatient services and physician practices. The building features a two-story entrance lobby and an underground tunnel connection to the hospital for staff and physician access.
Hospital Design
(Exterior) The new Mercy Hospital design incorporates several features from the original hospital, including the Mercy shield, which is integrated in cast stone above the new entrance. The color of the hospital’s bricks was selected to correspond with both the existing facility and historic Portland brick.
Hospital Design
(Interior) The design vision for Mercy Hospital was to both integrate the new campus into its natural surroundings, with a color scheme reminiscent of sand, sea, and coastal rocks; and to reinforce the original facility’s service-oriented mission by using original materials and new materials carefully selected to recall the site’s history.
Lobby: The main lobby design and materials make reference to their location along the Fore River, using rich neutral materials to evoke its sandy beaches and maple paneling, granite, and river rocks to echo the Maine coastline. The entrance is flanked by granite piers that recall the site’s tradition of community service; one bears the Mercy shield, while the other holds a quote by Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy: “In the care of the sick, great tenderness above all things.” The lobby has a fireplace and intimate and varied seating groups like those in a hotel reception area.
Patient rooms and family waiting areas: The design for these areas maximizes the peaceful impression created by the natural materials throughout the building by making use of wood look vinyl floors and casework in the labor and delivery rooms (which are also outfitted with Jacuzzis), providing storage and hiding medical gases. The patient rooms provide a hotel room ambiance with flat screen televisions, decorative lighting, Maine-themed artwork and sheer drapery; a family area offers provisions for family members to sleep over. The patient and family waiting rooms on all floors have views of the Fore River and amenities such as refreshment stations, wireless internet and varied and comfortable seating groups.
Chapel: The new Mercy Hospital chapel makes use of original stained glass windows from the 1943 Mercy Hospital chapel on State Street. When the hospital was renovated in the 1980s, its chapel was relocated to a smaller space in order to make room for a special care unit. The stained glass windows were crated and stored at the Mother House of the Sisters of Mercy in Portland.
Arts Program: In order to beautify and enhance the healing environment, Mercy Hospital put out a call to local artists, hospital employees and their families for original artwork with a Maine theme. The Mercy Arts Committee will select 40 works in glass, paint, photography and ceramic, which will be displayed, in the hospital’s main public spaces, lobby, elevator areas, patient rooms, consultation rooms and staff areas. In the future, the Mercy arts program will also feature original sculpture in outdoor areas.
Principal Materials Maple paneling, granite, river rocks, vinyl floors, wood ceilings
Fun facts Average number of workers per day 80
Peak number of construction workers 175
Total man-hours 275,000
Days worked 600
Pounds of rebar 192,000
Gallons of paint 2,110
Tons of steel 985
Cubic yards of concrete 4,707
Number of ceiling tiles 19,344
Square foot of glass 12,580
Square yards of flooring 14,180
Number of brick 220,000
Number of block 12,375
Square foot of cast stone 9,420
Design Team
Francis Cauffman Architects, lead architect
2120 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Principal-in-Charge – James Crispino
Design Principal – Richard Beck
Project Manager, Hospital – Aran McCarthy
Project Manager, Medical Office Building – Thomas Hyde
Consultant Team
SMRT – associated local architect, landscape architect and structural engineer
KLMK Group, LLC – project management
BR+A Consulting Engineers – mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer
DeLuca-Hoffman Associates, Inc. – civil engineer
Haley & Aldrich, Inc. – geotechnical engineer
Gilbane Building Company – construction manager
Gene Burton & Associates – medical equipment and technology planner
Inman Food Services, LLC – food service consultant