Blue Mountain Hospital Remodel

John Day, Oregon

Project Description

Blue Mountain Hospital, located in John Day, Oregon, hired Ascent Architecture & Interiors to assist with several different projects in their facility over the past few years. Projects have included interior remodels to various portions of the main hospital building, creation of a sleeping unit for EMTs in the hospital’s ambulance building, and assistance with determining the possibilities for revamping their three-story 1960s annex building.

One of the plans within the main hospital was to remodel its clinic reception area, as well as the intensive care unit (ICU) reception and nursing areas. In the clinic, Ascent’s architects replaced two dysfunctional reception desks with a group of three check-in stations rotated from the original locations to provide the reception staff with a better view of the waiting area, as well as offering additional work space behind the check-in area and more privacy for patients. In the ICU, Ascent’s team designed a glass divider to separate the reception staff area from the entry. We redesigned the nurses’ and doctors’ stations to provide more efficient work spaces and a new employee kitchenette. Ascent worked closely with hospital staff and coordinated with the Oregon Health Authority to develop this efficient and attractive interior remodel for the hospital.

Ascent developed the design and construction documents and assisted with obtaining a building permit and OHA approval. The hospital proceed with some of the design changes but did not complete construction of the full design scope.

For the ambulance building, Ascent developed a layout to convert a cramped bathroom into a fully accessible restroom with shower, reconfigure access to the second-level attic space, and divide the existing single sleeping room into two sleeping rooms, which will allow BMH to provide separate sleeping quarters for men and women. We worked closely with the hospital and the State Building Codes Division to develop a workable plan compliant with code requirements. Construction is nearly complete.

Our current project with BMH involves converting the existing records storage room and adjacent chapel into staff offices and creating a new chapel from a portion of a nearby waiting room. This project is currently in permit review.