Gateway Medical Center
Clarksville, Tennessee

Project Facts

Location: Clarksville, Tennessee
Size: 516,480 SF
Market: Healthcare
Services: Programming, Planning, Architecture, Interiors
Scope: Replacement Hospital.

Gateway Medical Center is a 5-story replacement hospital for the community’s original 50-plus-year-old medical facility in Clarksville. The design team’s challenge for this new 274-bed medical center was to create a modern healthcare facility that incorporated high-performance technology and enhanced operational efficiency while respecting the needs of patients, their families, and caregivers.

As one of the largest hospitals in the region, Gateway Medical Center includes 12 operating rooms, a minimally invasive endovascular room, a 39-position emergency department, 12 LDR rooms, 24 post-partum beds, a 13-position NICU, 21 intensive care beds, 21 step-down beds, and 20 inpatient rehabilitation beds.

Gateway Medical Center was designed to be accessible, convenient, and minimize anxiety from a patient’s first approach to the campus.  The hospital is served by multiple entrances, reducing the distance a patient would have to walk from the parking lot to the hospital entrance. The main lobby, with abundant daylight, serves as a circulation spine connecting the hospital to the MOB and as an organizational strategy to wayfinding for all outpatient and public services. The intent is to simplify the patient and visitor experience by providing them with direct access to admitting, dining, the gift shop, public elevators, and outpatient services. Cross-traffic between inpatients, outpatients, public, and service activities is nearly eliminated throughout the hospital.

Beyond Universal Grid planning, a modular approach was used to allow rooms to adapt based upon fluctuating hospital needs. Spaces within the hospital were designed, so they serve more than one purpose. For instance, the design of operating rooms allows any room to be used for a major case and the emergency room design allows for cross-functional use. The hospital’s occupational medicine program, a day-time function, was positioned adjacent to the emergency department for overflow capacity during peak hours. Similarly, the ICU and step-down spaces allow for rapid conversion to a second critical care unit when needed to address demand. The alignment of major services along exterior walls enhances the hospital’s future expansion opportunities.

Gateway’s stress-free environment extends a welcoming hand to families and staff. A comfortable café on the hospital’s first floor contributes to the atmosphere of hospitality and provides families with a diversion as they wait during stressful times. Technology and wireless capabilities help to connect staff functions and help to lessen patient anxiety.