Eastern Maine Medical Center

The multi-phased $308 million modernization project for Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) includes 361,000 SF of projects that provides state-of-the-art operating rooms, consolidated heart care, space for laboring moms and their babies, neonatal intensive care space, and increased private rooms for patients.

The EMMC modernization project focused on creating opportunities for the Bangor-based hospital to adapt to emerging technology and modern procedures while accommodating increased demand on a limited footprint. Views of nature, natural light, decentralized nurses’ stations, adaptable-acuity single patient rooms, patient lifts, and respite areas for patient families and staff are all incorporated into the design of the new tower.

With expansive views of the adjacent Penobscot River, the tower supports a new main lobby, cafe, heart and vascular care space, surgical suite, NICU, two floors of private patient rooms, and a newly renovated labor and delivery center. The private rooms are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of patients and provide a warm and relaxing atmosphere for healing by surrounding the patient with organic textures and ample natural light.

The 29 single-bassinet rooms in the new NICU were designed to accommodate around-the-clock care for EMMC’s most vulnerable patients. The NICU, 25 postpartum rooms, 32 inpatient telemetry rooms, and the 24-bed critical care unit all feature rooming-in accommodations for families, improving patient outcomes by enhancing the family’s role in the healing process.

The new facility also includes a 14 operating room surgery center with pre-op and PACU, as well as a new sterile processing department. Two of the new operating rooms are hybrid ORs equipped with advanced medical imaging devices, enabling minimally invasive surgery. The design of these areas focused intensely on infection control, taking into account the carefully orchestrated workflow of the surgeons and staff, as well as creating a separate, dedicated sterile pathway for supplies and instruments. The spaces are connected to the existing ambulatory surgery department, creating one of the largest, most comprehensive surgery centers in the state.