Medical Center, Pei Partnership Architects recently completed the design of a 7,800 sq. foot state-of-the-art geriatric wellness clinic: The Martha Stewart Center for Living. The new facility allows for a 30% increase in patient caseloads over the course of the next 15 years.

On October 7, 2007, Martha Stewart dedicated the center to Martha Kostyra, her 93-year-old mother. Ms. Stewart donated $5 million to Mount Sinai to bring the complex to life and change the way people approach aging. The center will provide clinical care and education for patients, offer training for physicians and coordinate healthy-aging research.

The clinic is located on the main campus of the medical center. It will, however, continue to maintain a distinct identity from the rest of the hospital through the design of a new entry canopy. The symbol for the clinic is the bonsai tree because of its longevity and great beauty. The design of the clinic therefore establishes a zen-like simplicity of beautifully detailed materials and well-lit public spaces that flow into each other in a logical path of progression. Transparent and translucent fixed and sliding glass partitions enhance this effect.

All exam rooms are wheelchair accessible and are spacious enough for a patient to be accompanied by a loved one. The choice of equipment and its layout in these rooms is designed to maximize the comfort level of both the patient and caregiver.

Increasingly, the problem confronting the field of Geriatrics is not just life extension, but the quality of life issues that come with it. An important component of the new facility will therefore be rooms for patient education and activities such as stretching and yoga. With greater use of technology, the staff can be shifted away from activities involving medical records and accounting to one-on-one interaction with the clientele.

Mount Sinai is a teaching hospital and as such, another key component of the clinic will be better facilities for residents-in-training. These include a viewing room with one-way mirrors to observe examinations without being seen and a greatly expanded Preceptor’s Room to review and discuss case histories