Howard Memorial Hospital opens in Arkansas

Gresham, Smith & Partners, an architecture, engineering, interior design and planning firm, recently announced the opening of Howard Memorial Hospital in Nashville, Ark.

The 63,000-sq-ft critical access facility contains 20 private patient rooms, two operating rooms, a minor procedure room and full-service emergency, imaging departments and a helipad. The facility replaces an existing hospital and is designed to improve functionality and create operational efficiencies.

“We are excited to occupy our new facility which enhances the quality of care that we are providing to the community,” said Rae Dowda, Howard Memorial Hospital. “GS&P worked with our staff to design a hospital that will streamline our operations and create efficiencies for our staff while aesthetically portraying a new modern image.”

Inspiration for the hospital’s design was drawn from the various landform characteristics of the area, combined with the historic atmosphere of the nearby towns.

GS&P applied safety-focused principles and overall patient wellness to the standard patient room layout. These private rooms allow for improved patient visibility for the staff and provide the patients views to the outside.

The patient unit is flexible in design to accommodate a changing patient census and departmental adjacencies are optimized, allowing quick and convenient access for staff and patients.

GS&P provided site master planning for the 53-acre greenfield site, process mapping, space planning, architecture, engineering, landscape architecture and environmental graphic services. Robins & Morton of Birmingham, Ala., served as the project’s construction manager.