Category: Healthcare

FirstLight Hospital breaks ground on $62 million expansion project

A modern building with large windows and a covered entrance, FirstLight Hospital welcomes visitors as several people walk outside and a car is parked along the curved driveway under a partly cloudy sky.

Kanabec Times June 29 marked FirstLight’s ground breaking celebration for its major phased construction project that was announced last fall. When complete, the expanded Mora campus will encompass a total of 195,000 square feet. Of that, approximately 71,000 square feet will be either new construction or remodeled space. Planning and discussions for this project started […]

Ground Breaking for the new St. Luke’s Chequamegon Clinic

A modern, single-story building with a large wooden entry canopy, stone accents, and landscaped flowerbeds sits under a blue sky. A red car is parked in front, and two people are near the entrance.

Superior Telegram St. Luke’s celebrated the start of construction on its new Chequamegon Clinic building with a groundbreaking ceremony Monday. Many community leaders including Ashland’s mayor, members of the planning commission and Chamber of Commerce attended. The new 22,000-square-foot clinic is being built on the shores of Lake Superior along the north side of U.S. […]

Aging with a “Sense of Place”

A man in maroon scrubs stands behind a counter, smiling at two older women enjoying coffee and cake in a bright, modern senior housing dining area.

By Jessica Derynck, AIA, LEED AP DSGW Healthcare Architect   I recently took part in the LeadingAge Minnesota Institute conference in St. Paul— one of the premier meetings nationwide for older adult services providers. A major theme was “Aging in Place”—the idea that older adults can live in a single location for the remainder of […]

Updating Facility Guidelines to Meet the Needs of Rural Healthcare

A technician monitors screens in a control room while two people stand beside an MRI machine visible through a large window, highlighting the importance of advanced imaging in rural healthcare facilities.

By Ryan Turner, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP DSGW Principal One size does not fit all in healthcare design.  Mark Vizenor, Facilities Director for FirstLight Health System and I are exploring this topic in our presentation —“Designing Critical Access and Rural Health Care Facilities”— at the 2017 PDC (Planning, Construction, and Design) Conference. Although there are […]

Applying Current Research in Designing a State-of-the-Art Clinic

Children and adults sit in a bright, modern waiting room with patterned chairs—an example of evidence based design—reading and playing at a green puzzle-piece shaped table. A reception desk and staff are visible in the background.

By Jody Anderson, AIA   Duluth’s Scottish Rite Clinic is pioneering new ideas in therapeutic design for the treatment of language disorders. From programming through design, DSGW planned the Clinic with “evidence-based design”—meaning strategies that have been tested and proven to support the work of Speech/Language Pathologists (SLPs). Balancing Calm and Stimulation There are two […]

Designing for the Promise of Telehealth Communications

A graphic showing a person icon with an arrow pointing to a computer monitor displaying a similar person icon, representing the concept of telehealth or virtual online communication.

By Ryan Turner, DSGW Architects, Healthcare Design Back in the 20th century, we called it “telemedicine”—a name dating from the era teletypes and rotary phones. Few kids today even know what these devices did. Today, information-sharing systems for data, sound, video and even virtual reality are tied into almost every room of new clinics and […]

Healing Interiors

by Carlie Kemp, CID, DSGW Interior Designer Creating a healing environment means more than choosing a particular carpet type or paint color. What matters is that people feel welcome, that the environment feels comfortable and familiar. Especially with our work in tribal communities such as the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, clinics are […]

St. Luke’s Expanding Miller Creek Clinic to New Location

A modern St. Luke's medical clinic building with a wooden canopy entrance, landscaped garden, and "Miller Creek Medical Clinic" sign on the front. The clinic sits under a blue sky with scattered clouds and distant birds.

by Baihly Warfield St. Luke’s is expanding its Miller Creek Medical Clinic in Hermantown to a new location on Loberg Avenue across from HOM Furniture. The new 20,000-square foot location is 6,000 square feet larger than the current clinic off Highway 53, which St. Luke’s President and CEO John Strange said is needed. He specifically […]

Cook Hospital breaks ground on $8.1 million Care Center

A group of people in safety vests and hard hats stand around a pile of dirt, holding shovels, at a Cook Hospital groundbreaking ceremony outside a building with a sign reading “Caring For Our Community.”.

COOK, MN – Cook Hospital broke ground on an $8.1 million care center addition and renovation that will improve quality of living for residents. The expansion creates 28 private resident rooms. The existing care center will be renovated in to offices, adult day services, a beauty shop, a residential laundry room, a restorative gym and lobby. The […]