South Campus Slated To Open With The New Year
By: Jacob Luecke
As the new Boone Hospital south campus continues to take shape, there is increasing excitement about this effort to better serve our growing community. Among the most excited are the physicians who will practice there.
“I think everybody is just really excited to be in this new medical plaza,” says Shauna Harrison, regional practice administrator for the Boone Medical Group practices. “They’ve been involved in almost every step of the process by looking at the floor plan, picking out finishes and providing feedback on the services that they’d like to see offered at our south campus.”
The south campus will occupy the southeast corner of Forum and West Nifong Boulevards in Columbia. Project Manager Katlyn Hays says construction is in progress and the hospital is planning for a January 2016 opening.
“There have been some weather delays, but we feel confident we will be completing on time,” says Hays, who is with Boone Hospital’s Planning, Design and Construction Department. “We will begin the wall layouts in June and are hoping to have the building enclosed late summer.”
The Boone Medical Group primary care clinic will have a space on the first floor of the new campus. It will provide a better environment for the group’s seven providers, who currently practice in an office building off Southampton Drive.
“I think just getting to be in a medical complex surrounded by other care providers is exciting,” Harrison says.
In addition to providing a great new home for the Boone Medical Group primary care clinic, the south campus will have a convenient care clinic, pharmacy, physical therapy services, and a lab. Imaging services also will be available onsite, including radiology, CT, MRI, ultrasound and mammography.
Bringing all of these services together in south Columbia will make for an enhanced patient experience. It will save people from having to drive to the main hospital campus when they need imaging or blood work following a visit with their primary care provider. Many more patients will be able to access these services in one same-day visit.
“It’ll provide one-stop care for our patients,” Harrison says. “They’ll be able to see their primary care physician, get their labs drawn and get their radiology testing without leaving the building.”
The south campus will occupy 125,000 square feet and is a $22 million investment in the health of the community.
Patients and visitors to the south campus can expect to see a facility that feels similar to Boone Hospital’s award- winning 2011 South Tower expansion and subsequent projects to remodel existing areas of the hospital.
“The look of the campus will be very similar to the main campus,” Hays says. “The shape of the building and awning will mimic that of the new Patient Tower. For the interiors, we are continuing the neutral color palette for finishes and will again be featuring local art.”
Hays says the colors and artwork for the south campus are being chosen carefully to create a comforting, healing environment for patients, visitors, staff and clinicians.
“As with all Boone Hospital locations, we want patients to feel at ease when they walk into the facility,” she says. “We hope to accomplish this through calming colors,
warm wood tones, simple wayfinding and nature-inspired art.”
The south campus also includes a unique outdoor experience, including
a fully-lit walking trail. Community members who visit the south campus will be able to visit an enhanced memorial, including a memorial pond, honoring Columbia Police Officer Molly Bowden,
who was killed while conducting a traffic stop in the area in 2005.
Hays says everyone will be welcome to use the new walking trail and visit the memorial.
“This will allow patients and community members to enjoy nature, not only while they are on the campus for care, but any time,” she says.