Overlook Medical Center, part of Atlantic Health System recently marked the completion of the East Building, a 3-story expansion to the hospital campus that houses new and updated space for vital specialties.
The East Building represents a major expansion to the hospital as part of the ongoing Overlook Ahead project, a plan to extensively transform and enhance the Overlook Medical Center campus.
The expansion provides new, updated, state-of-the art spaces for maternity care, cardiology and critical care and neuroscience.
“This building, and most importantly the care that will be provided here, truly embodies our vision for the future of acute care,” Stephanie Schwartz, president of Overlook Medical Center and senior vice president, Atlantic Health System said. “It is no secret that health care is changing fast. We need to stay ahead of the curve, to continue to provide the best care to our community and meet the needs of our region. The advancements in this new space will complement the physicians, nurses and team members who deliver care and will have a profound impact on the patient and family experience and on the team member and physician experience.”
The 78,000 square foot, expansion, split between three floors, involved complete renovation of an existing 42,000 square-foot, two-story section of the hospital and adding a complete 8th floor on top of the existing building while also creating a three-story addition at the end of the building. In addition, Overlook enlarged the bridge connecting to the main hospital and added a dedicated patient transport elevator tower.
The East Building includes:
- A new post-partum unit, named the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey Newborn and Family Care Unit, located on the 6th Floor.
- The FM Kirby Foundation Neuroscience Center, a new neuroscience “super-unit,” that will include the Jeneil B. Reeves Neuro ICU on the 7th Floor.
- The Dr. Kevin Bell, Critical Care Unit on the 8th Floor will include newly designed private rooms that will be larger and more technology-enabled to provide for the 24-hour care needed by our sickest patients whose conditions are not stable enough for transfer to a regular hospital room.
- The Wilf Family Cardiology Center on the 8th floor is a new state-of-the-art cardiology unit with single rooms.
Additional features include:
- A renovated NICU to support our youngest patients
- A satellite pharmacy to streamline care
- A dedicated patient transport system for efficient OR and imaging access
- A small office area and elevator lobby on the 5th floor as well and a new mechanical chiller plant below the building addition.
Building a better future
Design for the building began in 2019, but underwent changes when construction went on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This allowed Overlook’s architects to revise the plans and incorporate learnings from the pandemic before breaking ground in November 2022.
The East Building’s design was based on providing modernized space for the future of health care, and also providing comfort to patients and loved ones, while using advancements developed in recent years to safeguard those in the building.
“The building was designed with the thought of another pandemic in mind,” Andrew Restivo, project manager for the department of construction for Atlantic Health System said.
Each of the units is expected to open pending regulatory approvals over the next several weeks. Torcon Construction and Buckl Architects performed construction and planning on the project, respectively.
With the completion of the East Building, Overlook has now transformed more than 80 percent of its patient care areas. Projects that were previously completed as part of Overlook Ahead include the renovation of the entrance to and adult triage and waiting areas of the Bouras Emergency Department, the South Parking Garage for team members, and the Hersh Children’s Center, all of which were completed in 2021. The children’s center, a nearly 12,000-square-foot facility that opened in January 2022, centralizes the hospital’s pediatric emergency and inpatient services in one convenient, family-friendly space. The transformation plan also includes upgrades to the emergency department at Overlook’s main campus in Summit and satellite campus in Union, as well as upgrades and expansion to the John E. Reeves Same Day Surgery Center.
The East Building accounted for approximately $97 million of the $168.1 million cost of the total Overlook Ahead plan. Much of the plan was supported by generous donations from the community to the Overlook Foundation, which supports the medical center, as well as vital funding secured in the NJ State budget, in addition to capital funding by the hospital.