Springfield Clinic Pediatrics uses positive distractions to reduce anxiety in patients and families

Springfield Clinic Pediatrics, Springfield, Illinois.

Facing pediatric departments in aging buildings with dated interiors, Springfield Clinic (Springfield, Ill.) embarked on a project to build a new facility to house all of its pediatric services. From the beginning, the project team, which included The Lawrence Group (St. Louis), sought to create a building that would help distract children and reduce anxiety from the moment they pulled into the parking lot.

“You put a kid in the right environment with kids they don’t know, and all of a sudden they’re all on the same page and ready to play,” says Tom Fitch, Springfield Clinic’s vice president of facilities, real estate, and construction. “I feel like this facility has developed a personality for positive play.”

Child-friendly clinic design

Springfield Clinic Pediatrics in Springfield, Illinois, is set to open in October 2023 and will house multiple services across two floors, including general pediatrics, dermatology, laboratory, and radiology. Playful design and elements of distraction are incorporated throughout the 450,000-square-foot center, beginning with the arrival sequence and continuing into the exterior and interior spaces.

As you approach the building from the parking lot, floor-to-ceiling windows in the two-story entrance hall provide transparency, giving you a glimpse of the playful design, including colorful silhouettes of playing children on the walls.

Two kinetic sculptures, over 7.5 metres high, with multiple moving parts, stand near the entrance and form a striking focal point.

Installing a playground slide in a healthcare facility

Inside the facility, the interior features primary and secondary colors in the furnishings, signage and graphics, as well as playful accents. For example, the imaging suite has a constellation theme on the walls, inspired by the idea of ​​lying outside and looking at the stars, and patients can select the color of the changing LED lights.

One of the more unusual design elements came out of a brainstorming session with the project team about what kids like to do and where they like to go, Fitch says. “We kept repeating that thought process and it was like, ‘Well, kids love going on the slide … Why couldn’t we put a slide in this building?’”

Julie Steffens, director of interiors at Lawrence Group, which served as the architectural and interior design firm on the project, says the idea stuck. To bring the play object into a clinical setting, the project team considered different styles and materials, such as metal, pipe or plastic, before settling on a finished wood, which added warmth to the space.

The slide is located at the entrance to the two-story lobby and next to a staircase, and is one of the first attractions visitors encounter.

And it’s not just young patients who enjoy it, says Fitch. “I’ve seen one of our doctors go down the slide with a patient on several occasions,” he says.

Clinic Layout Strategies

Given the variety of positive distractions the new clinic offers, the project team was strategic in placing play areas shielded by quiet and relaxing spaces, such as a café across from the lobby entrance opposite the slide.

In addition, waiting rooms are equipped with different types of seating, from soft sofas and stools to armchairs and modular couches, and with groupings to create comfortable spaces where children and parents can sit together.

“We were able to create communities, areas where we could separate the more quiet or restorative areas from the spaces that are more active,” Steffens says.

Springfield Clinic Pediatrics Project Details

Project location: Springfield, Illinois.

Completion date: October 2023

Owner: Springfield Clinic

Total area of ​​the building: 3,800 m²

Total construction cost: $23 million

Cost/m2: $554

Architect of the Record: Farnsworth Group

Design Architect: Lawrence Group

Interior Designer: Lawrence Group

Main Contractor: O’Shea Builders

Engineers: Veenstra & Kimm Inc. (civil), Hanson Professional Services Inc. (structural), M/E 1 Engineering (MEPFPT)

Landscape: Massie Massie + Associates

Builder: O’Shea Builders

Art Consultant: TOC Artwork

Furniture: Lincoln Office

Art/Images: TOC Artwork

Carpet/Floor Covering/Base: Shaw Contract, Interface, Mannington, Tarkett

Ceiling/wall systems: Armstrong, Clipso

Doors/Locks/Hardware: Serenity Sliding Doors, Negwer

Fabrics/textiles: Designtex, Arc-Com, CF Stinson, Carnegie

Furniture – seating/furniture: Steelcase, OFS, ERG, Spradling

Wall Protection: Building Specialties, Inpro Corporation

Lighting: G Lighting, Lithonia Lighting, LZF, NuLite, ALW, Lightology, OCL, Prudential Lighting, Moda Light, Acclaim Lighting, Mitzi, Focal Point, Juno

Signage: Coordinated by Springfield Clinic

Surfaces – solid/other: Corian, Hi-Macs, Cambria

Wallpaper: Wolf Gordon, Inpro Corporation

Terrazzo (floor, base, step): Missouri Terrazzo

Tile: Daltile, Platform surfaces, Roca

Glass tile: Island Stone, TileBar

Light boxes (cast resin): 3-shape

Slide: Adventurous Solutions

Fish Bowls: Tank It Easy

Window decoration: Draper

Project details are provided by the design team and not controlled by Healthcare design.

Robert McCune is the editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design and can be reached at [email protected].