Mike Wolanin | Republic An interior view of the Columbus Regional Health Facility at NexusPark in Columbus, Indiana, Monday, January 22, 2024.
Columbus Regional Health officials unveiled to the media Monday a funky, art-adorned, $54 million home-style environment at their NexusPark campus designed to provide more efficient, streamlined care — and designed for better work and space for employees.
The unveiling served as a preview of today's public open house beginning with the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce's ribbon cutting at 11:30 a.m., followed by tours of the facility from noon to 6 p.m. The new space will be home to 17 different medical offices by the end of April.
Only one clinic, OB/GYN Associates, is currently open there, with others to follow within days.
The project, just part of the repurposing of the former FairOaks Mall, represents the hospital's largest financial investment ever not located on its 17th Street campus, according to Jim Bickel, the hospital's president and CEO.
It is also part of the hospital's long-announced collaboration with the city of Columbus and the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department to transform the former mall into a health, wellness and entertainment facility.
Hospital leadership praised project partners with BSA LifeStructures, RSP Architects, SSR Engineers and Turner Construction.
The 125,000-square-foot space, which has been in the works for five years, features a bright atmosphere from skylights replicating the glass roofs of the old FairOaks Mall, plus about a dozen more skylights added to allow natural light into the facility on 25th Street. The old skylights are the only element in the hospital portion of NexusPark that visitors recognize from the former FairOaks facility.
“As you can imagine, converting a shopping center into a healthcare facility was not easy,” Bickel said, noting that the project also had to be directed to overcome the pandemic and its obstacles. “But we used a great deal of input from our patients, clients, doctors and other healthcare professionals to design the space and bring it to life.
“So adding this facility to CRH helps advance our mission to improve the health and well-being of those we serve, and aligns with our strategy to grow high-quality care and services, as well as to attract and retain the best talent.”
For patients, instantly recognizable features include the glass entrance No. 3 near where the former Elder-Beerman department store stood. Abstract and landscape-oriented art pieces, including works by local creatives, are implemented into bright wall signs and framed prints that line the initial corridor in a floor pattern resembling the meandering flow of a river.
Nearby, in the physical and occupational therapy space that opens Monday, there is a series of artistic murals, if you will, featuring slices of scenes from Mill Race Park.
In addition, 3D art elements such as sculptures will soon be available.
Some of the modern furniture in the large lounge areas feels more at home in a stylish art gallery than a medical facility.
The chairs include a number of pieces that include electronic lifts for patients who need support to get back on their feet.
Plans are being made to make the facility dementia-friendly, with training to begin soon.
Monday's tour included four key members of hospital leadership showing the way: Bickel, David Leinart, vice president of strategic facilities planning and operations, Dr. Rachel Reed, vice president and associate medical director, and Casey Gibson, director of system building services. .
Patients immediately noticed a calmer, more peaceful atmosphere due to soundproofing and more to improve patient privacy and quiet, said Reid, part of the OB/GYN Associates of Columbus practice that moved from a nearly 50-year-old building here in late October. .
“I'll bring a book next time (to read),” Reed said.
Reed herself likes the ergonomic, easily adjustable desks that allow employees to work while standing or sitting, and they also add space that allows doctors more privacy and focus on responsibilities like patient charting. Staff also have access to breakout rooms, quiet rooms for personal time and other facilities that can be intentionally shared with other practices in a type of team building effort within Columbus Regional.
“CRH at NexusPark is great,” Reed said. “All the aesthetics, from the color palette to the artwork to the furniture, really result in a calm, vibrant workforce and a patient experience. I truly see NexusPark as a model for the future of healthcare.”
Search items are organized simply by clearly defined letters of the alphabet so that visitors who are not native English speakers can easily find what they need, whether it's a doctor's office or a child supervision area (for a fee). Each training desk also features its own color scheme, to help visitors better acclimate to the surroundings.
Wheelchairs and people assisting people with ambulatory issues will be available at the front door.
Security has also become more important, with doors automatically locking in medical staff areas. Exam rooms are identical in each office so patients can build a level of comfort and familiarity no matter what specialty they may need.
The design and construction process was very team-oriented, Leinart said, and was a process “where the architects, engineers, interior designers and owner worked on an equal level. So all voices were heard, all experiences were weighed equally, and we came up with everyone's best ideas.”
The same goes for insights from other health and wellness facilities during visits to Tennessee, Michigan and elsewhere, he said.
Most hospital practices moving to NexusPark are from leased buildings with landlord-controlled tenants rather than from buildings the hospital owns, Leinart added.
Medical offices
These are the offices scheduled to be in Nexus Park by the end of April. OB/GYN Associates moved in in October.
- OB/GYN Associates Columbus
- Healthy communities
- BCC Clinic
- PT solutions for physical, occupational and speech therapy
- Well Connect
- Park doctors family medicine
- Rao Family Medicine
- Medication assistance program
- Laboratory services at Nexus Park (former Middle Road site)
- Sandcrest Family Medicine
- Audiology
- Driving rehabilitation
- Family medicine and internal medicine
- Neuroscience and sleep science
- Columbus Pediatrics
- Filming at NexusPark
- Fem Care Clinic
Open house today
The public is invited to attend a special Columbus Regional Health Open House for the Nexus Park Campus, including a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m., with self-guided tours of parts of the facility available from noon to 6 p.m. Tours will be available throughout the open house.
The event is free. Attendees must enter the facility through Entrance 3, which is located on the southwest side of the facility, off 25th Street (where the Elder-Beerman Department Store was once located).
Parking is available via the main campus parking lot.
