Hospital Design

Combining history with innovation is a hallmark of New England. And Gardner Animal Care Center pays homage to that tradition by building its modern, high-tech veterinary hospital adjacent to a 233-year-old restored Massachusetts farmhouse.

My treatment area is on the small side, and I wish I could give myself more space to work. Is there a better way to arrange my equipment and supplies so I'm not tripping over everything?

The doctors spent years gathering recommendations from staff members and clients and noting desirable details in other veterinary and human hospitals. Yet the key reason for building a new facility was simply the need for more space, says Dr. Thomas Lassiter, hospital director and co-owner of Arboretum View Animal Hospital in Downers Grove, Ill.

The owners say they'd be happy to live in their new equine practice. Here's how they achieved this level of comfort.

Baby steps won't get you the facility of your dreams, these doctors say. Take the plunge, anticipate your future needs, and center the entire plan on your practice mission.

Setting goals for saving and developing a plan early helped these doctors develop the perfect new facility for West Park Animal Hospital just six inches away.

A new design that emphasizes natural light and delivers a commanding presence in the neighborhood led to a 40 percent increase in business for the 5,750-square-foot Century Veterinary Group in Los Angeles.

It's not smoke and mirrors, but glass and an efficient floor plan that make Animal Health Center at Weston, a 2,600-square-foot practice, seem larger than life.

"If your clinic stinks, clients may worry that your medical care stinks, too," says Mark Hafen, AIA, an architect with Animal Arts/Gates Hafen Cochrane in Boulder, Colo. "You can't prevent noise and odors from occurring, but you can prevent them from spreading." Hafen, a Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member, suggests that you:

In a city famous for its parties and rich with history, Metairie Small Animal Hospital fits right in. But don't let the grandeur fool you; practices of all sizes can apply the strategies that make this a terrific hospital.

This doctor showed flexibility when her plans for Northeast Cat & Dog Hospital hit roadblocks erected by city engineers. And her patience, careful planning, and faith led her to a facility she says is "perfect."

Asking clients for input and allowing staff members to plan the new facility made for a winning combination at Magrane Pet Medical Center.

Stumbling on the ideal property brought Dr. Kenneth Haynes' plans to build a spacious, comfortable hospital to a natural fruition.

Building a spacious, staff-friendly hospital is the best advertisement for high-quality team members, say the owners of Eltham Central Veterinary Hospital.

When a seventh renovation on a 1920s roadhouse just wouldn't give Gehrman Animal Hospital the necessary flow, the owners--two brothers--built a new practice.

Renovating an empty two-story building across the street helped this feline practice attract clients, which boosted practice revenue and helped improve the quality of care Dr. Diane Steinberg offered.

The reasons for building new practices are as varied as the doctors who build them. Some want space for new services. Some want to reflect their medical style. Some want it all. Dr. Mark G. Romain, though, had a humble goal: to build a hospital with a functional floor plan.

Building a hospital is usually an effort of love-and a project you expect to enjoy for years. But Dr. Frank A. Klimitas built his new hospital, a historic building renovation, because of business needs rather than to fulfill a dream.

For years Dr. Susan M. Baker had heard colleagues and consultants tout the benefits of adding profit centers. But her old hospital just wasn't big enough to add any more services. So in 1999, when she outgrew the facility she had leased since 1990, she started working on plans for a new hospital. At 6,200 square feet, her new facility offers space for the additional services she dreamed of offering.

Innovative space-saving solutions, a flawless floor plan, and lots of love went into designing the 1,800-square-foot Landen-Maineville Animal Hospital.

When Dr. Dermot Jevens, Dipl. ACVS, moved from Pittsburgh to Greenville, S.C., in 1997, he decided he needed to get to know the area before building a hospital. So he leased space for his specialty practice from an emergency clinic. Animal Emergency Clinic (AEC), owned by 37 shareholders, welcomed Dr. Jevens and Upstate Veterinary Specialists (UVS) into the AEC facility.

Dr. Steven G. Paul had owned three practices before he built his fourth. And while he had commissioned work on his previous facilities, Wiles Road Animal Hospital in Coral Springs, Fla., is the first practice he has built from the ground up.

Not many people find the opportunity to purchase an area landmark. But when a restaurant went on the market in Salem, Ore., Dr. Tom Van Meter snatched it up; the 1-acre lot featured a 40-foot fir known locally as the holiday tree. "I fell in love with the site," says Dr. Van Meter. "The location offered lots of parking, space to expand, and 30 mature trees, which give the area a park-like feel." In a little more than a year, Dr. Van Meter turned Chelsea's Restaurant into a high-tech veterinary facility that won a merit award in the 2002 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Competition.

I always knew I wanted to own a practice, but I never guessed that the perfect location would be a strip mall," says Dr. Jean M. Oberg, owner of My Animal Hospital of North Dover in Toms River, N.J. "In 1984, I started cutting hospital design articles out of Veterinary Economics, and when it came time to build, I had hundreds of designs."

In 1995, Dr. Anne Scholl-Mealey opened Chickasaw Trail Animal Hospital in a mall in Orlando, Fla. Six years later, she chose the 1.4-acre lot across the street to accommodate the practice's growth. "We designed our new facility around the oak trees that tower over the site," says Dr. Scholl. "The oaks form a canopy over the driveway, parking lots, and the building."

In the spring of 1997, Dr. William J. Moyle Jr. and his wife, Nancy, decided to build a practice closer to their home south of Denver. And four years later they broke ground on a new facility. During the building process, Veterinary Centers of America offered to buy their existing 14-year-old practice, and Dr. Moyle agreed.

You've outgrown your facility and want to build something bigger and better. You've found a couple of possible locations, and you're starting to look at interest rates.

Drs. Lamar and Amber Crossland knew they wanted Sunset Canyon Veterinary Clinic in central Texas to appeal to long-time ranchers as well as to the Austin urbanites who'd fled the city for greener pastures in Dripping Springs, Texas. And the mixed animal practice also needed to accommodate a gamut of patients, from livestock to polo horses to pampered pooches. One last requirement: seamless movement between the large animal and small animal sides of the practice, because all staff members worked in both areas.

When Dr. Randy Spencer stepped outside his hospital doors 13 years ago and glanced around the growing suburb of Phoenix that surrounded First Regional Animal Hospital, he didn't like what he saw. Ten veterinary hospitals were situated within a 3-mile radius of the practice. "That kind of competition dampens productivity," says the 1987 Colorado State graduate.

Dr. Troy Bearden likens building a new hospital to walking a tightrope without a net. "You take a chance and hope you don't fall," he says. For him and his partner, Dr. Catherine Mabe, the risk paid off. Their 5,300-square-foot Shallowford Animal Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., more than doubles the size of their former facility and won a Merit Award in the 2002 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Competition. Two years after opening, the doctors still see new-client numbers increase 30 percent a month.