Community-based hospitals build important care and treatment facilities in their hometowns to keep patients and their families close to their homes and to each other.

West Virginia University Healthcare’s Berkeley Medical Center saw a critical need in their community of Martinsburg West Virginia to provide an Intensive Care Unit for newborn infants with serious medical issues.

The project commissioned by WVUH Berkeley created a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) through the renovation of existing hospital space.  The NICU design placed an emphasis on creating a positive environment in the new unit.   The design features bright colors and patterns on the floors, walls, and ceilings.  A display of flowers, plants, and butterflies are cut into floor patterns and applied to walls and sidelights.  Colorful clouds hang over the central nurse station.

The NICU is well organized for the efficient and effective delivery of care.  The Unit’s primary patient spaces consist of a multi-bed patient room and an isolation room. Each allows parents to remain close to their newborns and to be included in the caring process.  A private Parent/Infant patient room provides parents with a sleep sofa in the room.