Albany Medical Center decided to enlarge its growing Cardiac Catheterization/Electro-Physiology Department after adjacent space became available and also use the expansion to solve a number of department shortcomings. Hyman Hayes Associates was commissioned to plan the expansion and design the $1.5-million renovation work.

The Cath/EP department was essentially all clinical and support space with no room for families to wait, no consult areas, registration on another floor, and included a recovery area with minimal privacy.

Building configuration, elevator location, and the need to keep the department in operation limited design alternatives. A 14-bed recovery area was constructed at the end of the building forming a separate, isolated suite. A large waiting/check-in area was created directly adjacent to the elevators, and the patient corridor was reconfigured to run behind the waiting area so no patients being transported from the Cath or EP Labs to recovery are visible to the public. The existing recovery area was renovated for pediatric and higher risk patients and former offices were converted to support space.