Healthcare Design - February 2018 - 22

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Health and Literacy
Center represents a new beginning for three organizations
serving South Philadelphia. Designed by VSBA Architects
& Planners (Philadelphia), the new 96,000-square-foot
building replaces three 1960s-era structures-a public
health clinic, a branch of the Free Library, and a recreation center-that existed separately on the site. The new
$42 million center, which spans a city block, brings these
functions together while also incorporating a pediatric primary care practice owned by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Cheryl Kramer, director of operations and ambulatory health services
for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, was director of the public health clinic in 2012, when a renovation was first considered. She says
the clinic was having difficulty managing a high demand for services, with
new patients waiting several months to be seen, and hoped to add square
footage to accommodate more exam rooms and physicians.
At the same time, a new city health commissioner was appointed-a physician who formerly worked at CHOP-who knew of CHOP's desire to expand
its service area to include South Philadelphia. As leaders of the healthcare
organizations discussed opportunities for the site, a collective vision began
to emerge that included not only clinical space but a new home for the rec
center and library. The result is a unique public-private partnership between
CHOP and the city that creates opportunities for
collaborative programming between the entities.
Construction began in October 2014, and the
project opened in May 2016. The 12,000-squarefoot Free Library branch is on the ground floor
and houses a Community Health Resource Center, which features health-related programming
like CPR classes and health insurance guidance.
The second floor is home to City Health Center #2, which provides services to adults and
children without health insurance. A pharmacy
and lab are positioned at the front of the suite, off
the elevator lobby, for patients who are stopping
in for prescriptions or tests. The 28,500-squarefoot health center was also designed to support
unexpected care. "There are many walk-in patients without appointments who need to be
triaged, so we provided triage rooms immediately adjacent to the waiting areas, which helps
reduce waiting times and allows for a greater

22

FEBRUARY 2018

ABOVE: The words
"South Philadelphia
Community Health
and Literacy Center"
span the width of the
building, while vertical
stripes of blue, green,
yellow, red, purple,
and orange punctuate
the façade. BELOW:
The CHOP waiting
room features floorto-ceiling windows,
soft textures, and play
structures. 

number of patients to be seen," says Seth Cohen,
senior associate at VSBA and the project manager and co-designer on the health center project.
The health center's specialty services are organized by hallway and there's a general waiting
area as well as dedicated internal waiting spaces
for general medicine, pediatrics, and dentistry;
the facility has 37 exam rooms.
At the CHOP primary care clinic, located on
the third floor, patients and families can check
in at the registration desk or by using nearby
kiosks, while a reading corner, mosaic mural
crafted by patients, play structures, and public
computers provide "plenty of opportunities for
engagement," says Cohen.
The CHOP space houses 34 120-square-foot
exam rooms, organized along four color-coded
hallways in an open-square pattern with a nurses' station, medication room, and staff touchdown spaces in the center.
By bringing these diverse services together
under one roof, the project enables interplay between the service providers. A committee meets
monthly to develop joint programming such
as a recent health fair, and CHOP physicians
work with the rec center to provide structured
programming for kids around fitness and maintaining healthy weights. CHOP staff distribute
library card applications to new patient families,
and a nurse conducts a monthly story hour on a
health-related topic.
The building also answered the original need
to increase healthcare services to the area, with
the city health clinic managing nearly 50,000 visits per year, and CHOP managing approximately
35,000 visits annually.-Jennifer J. Salopek,
freelance writer

MATT WARGO (E XTERIOR); VSB A ARCHITECTS & PLANNERS ( WAITING ROOM)

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OUTH PHILADELPHIA Community

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Healthcare Design - February 2018

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