In an effort to provide more convenient access to the full spectrum of women's care, Albany Medical Center proposed to relocate and expand their Outpatient OB/GYN services from a disorganized stand alone facility to the medical office building at their South Clinical Campus. The premise of the "Women's Center" is to provide a multispecialty medical practice bringing together screening, prevention and treatment under one roof to provide comprehensive care for women throughout their entire life. Having ORs in the attached hospital made the medical office building an ideal location for the Women's Center.

To accommodate the program, the entire 7,250-sf first floor and 3,550-sf of the second floor were completely renovated and a 5,250-sf addition was provided at both floors. The addition also contained a 3,550-sf basement for mechanical equipment and storage. The 12,500-sf first floor contains clinical spaces while the 8,800-sf second floor space contains medical offices, administrative support space, conference rooms and a large multi-function room.

Working within a tight budget Hyman Hayes Associates developed a layout that provides easy patient and staff flow for the three self-contained "suites" of the center; exam, procedure and ultra sound. The exam suite contains 18 exam rooms and associated support areas. The procedure suite contains three rooms (for cystoscopy, LEEP, colposcopy, D&C, etc.) along with a nurses' station, instrument cleaning room and other support spaces. Three ultra sound rooms and a two-station "non-stress test" room, again with all required support spaces are located in the Ultra Sound suite. A small private waiting area, separate from the main waiting, is provided for procedure and ultra sound patients to allow a quiet and reflective space for patients who may be apprehensive.