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| CASE STUDY
MEETING THE HIGH STANDARDS OF HEALTHCARE GASTRO HEALTH – GALLOWAY CARE CENTER MIAMI, FL Gastro Health’s Galloway Care Center, a new gastrointestinal healthcare facility in Miami, needed durable, high-performance interior design materials to create a clean and comfortable environment for patients.
CARING BY DESIGN Healthcare facilities continue to expand beyond their main urban campuses into local communities providing more specified care options with easier access. Gastro Health, headquartered in Miami, FL, is a prime example of this trend. A group of physicians and medical practitioners, Gastro Health has more than 190 community-based facilities that include care centers, surgery centers, infusion centers and specialty pharmacies. One of the latest additions to Gastro Health’s ever-growing network is the Galloway Care Center, a 34,000-squarefoot facility that occupies the second floor of a larger healthcare complex called MedSquare Health near the Baptist Hospital of Miami. Inside the Galloway Care Center, a team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nutritionists and technicians see a steady stream of patients from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days per week.
To deliver healthcare services at this pace demands interior design that intuitively defines spaces for easy wayfinding and thoughtfully provides welcoming spaces for patient comfort while they undergo medical treatments. This environment also requires exceptional performance from design materials and furnishings, as these elements must also withstand the daily wear and tear of frequent use while meeting the high infection-prevention standards of healthcare design.
IT STARTS WITH THE FINISH For the Gastro Health Galloway Care Center, Randolfo Hernandez, Director of Interior Design at Miami’s Bermello Ajamil & Partners, selected a color palette of orange, gray and white and complemented it with a rich, dark walnut texture. According to Hernandez, the overarching goal of the project was to
THE DESIGN PALETTE
The New Leaf™ Performance Veneers in Plain Sawn Walnut complement an interior design palette that includes pops of pumpkin orange, light and medium grays, and bright white, milky white and ecru. 2
create a contemporary, state-of-theart medical facility. To do this, design elements introduced clean lines that made the space bright and uplifting. The space also needed to be welcoming for patients, so the warm, bold color of orange and the warm walnut wood finish of the New Leaf™ Performance Veneers were added to create a feeling of comfort. “We followed the concept of the sun setting on a warm beach,” explains Hernandez. “We introduced a warm, bold orange in the main public areas to create the sun set, and then we transitioned into the patient and procedure areas using cool blues, greens and teals to create a beachy feel. By specifying New Leaf Performance Veneers in Plain Sawn Walnut with a Toffee Matte Finish for the walls, ceilings, cabinets and workstations throughout the facility, Hernandez effectively defined individual spaces while maintaining a sense of comfort.
For instance, the focal point of the facility’s open, airy waiting room is a circle of four high-barrel-back upholstered chairs finished in bright white and pumpkin orange. This central seating area is flanked by two similar spaces that each include a set of four smaller barrel-back chairs finished in a medium gray. At center are low, round tables with walnut material finishes. The wood-like appearance of each table visually links the seating areas to nearby reception desks and check-in/ check-out stations that feature the New Leaf Performance Veneers in Walnut. And overall, the space is balanced by luxury vinyl flooring with a woodgrain pattern created by a mix of milky white and ecru. Beyond the waiting area, visitors arrive at an elevator bank, where two stainless steel elevator doors stand opposite a rectangular built-in glowing blue aquarium. The floor is finished with walnut-colored luxury vinyl planks that move the eye to the walls in walnut performance veneers framing the elevator doors. Overhead, the dark performance veneers continue,
Overall, New Leaf is durable, easy to handle and install, and the color is prefinished and consistent with the look of high-quality woodgrain without the need to stain. —Carlos De Leon, Architectural Woodwork
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completing an elongated “U” shape that defines the elevator area. In other sections of the center, such as information desks and patient refreshment stations, the dark walnut of the New Leaf™ Performance Veneers is again used to define and anchor spaces amid vast stretches of lighter, milky-colored floors. New Leaf covers each bookend-like divider between bright white administrative desks and visually encloses areas in which veneers are used on walls and ceilings. The warmth of the walnut finish also carries into individual nursing stations, where patients have their vitals checked before they head into the exam rooms. Walnut performance veneers can also be found in staff supply areas on cabinet faces and outside office entryways throughout the center. No matter where patients and staff are within the center, they experience the continuity and connectedness created by the design palette.
“We were very happy with the results and it looks beautiful,” says Hernandez. “The New Leaf material is rich and realistic—I am frequently asked how much it cost to do this project in all wood.”
WHERE TRADITIONAL VENEER WON’T SUFFICE Early in the design phase, Hernandez had specified a natural wood product. But after discussing the choice with Carlos De Leon, CEO of Waterhouse Architectural Woodwork, which served as the project fabricator, Hernandez instead opted for New Leaf. “Although we knew about New Leaf before, we didn’t understand the benefits,” says Hernandez. “Once we understood, New Leaf became the clear choice.” Waterhouse Architectural Woodwork, specializes in designing custom cabinets 4
and casework for residential, commercial, and institutional clientele, including healthcare. The company is a member of and certified by the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), an organization of professionals who design, build, maintain and operate hospitals and other healthcare facilities. It is therefore critical that their work complies with the strict requirements for Infection Control Requirement Assessment and Life Safety. De Leon says New Leaf Performance Veneers were selected for the project for two key reasons. First was that the product provided the best continuity of color in relation to the other materials chosen for the interior design. And second was that New Leaf provides exceptional wearability and is more hygienic than wood veneer. De Leon notes that the New Leaf offers easy cleanability without losing its surface sbeauty—an essential performance feature for materials used in a healthcare environment. Tests conducted by Wilsonart R&D confirmed this wearability by applying a variety of disinfecting agents commonly used in healthcare settings to different New Leaf finishes. Disinfectants included hypochlorite-based disinfectants (such as Clorox Healthcare Bleach Germicidal
Cleaner) and accelerated hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectants (such as OXIVIR® TB). After exposing four different New Leaf finishes to these two disinfectants for 16 hours and then rinsing with water, the veneers showed no effect or only slight effect. “Overall, New Leaf is durable, easy to handle and install, and the color is prefinished and consistent with the look of high-quality wood grain without the need to stain,” says De Leon.
IN GOOD COMPANY Gastro Health’s Galloway Care Center is one of several healthcare tenants in the MedSquare Health building. MedSquare Health was completed in January 2020 and opened to tenants the following June. The $40 million Class A medical office building is owned by developers AJP Ventures and Mas Group and is a three-story property that includes medical offices and customizable space. The LEED-certified building was designed by Modis Architects, who paid special attention to the patient experience with floor-to-ceiling windows that make use of natural light. The complex also includes a two-story parking garage
GASTRO HEALTH – GALLOWAY CARE CENTER LOCATION 9408 SW 87th Avenue, Suite 200 Miami, FL ARCHITECT Modis Architects, LLC INTERIOR DESIGNER Bermello Ajamil & Partners FABRICATOR Waterhouse Architectural Woodwork PRODUCT New Leaf™ Performance Veneer, Plain Sawn, V021 Walnut, Matte Finish Used in reception areas, waiting rooms, patient check-in/check-out stations, administrative workstations, nursing stations, patient refreshment stations
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