The center is a joint venture combining the obstetrical program at Abbott Northwestern and neonatal care of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota—separate but adjacent facilities. The building, connected to the existing facilities (as well as to a medical office building) via skybridges, allows mothers and babies to stay together if post-birth complications occur.
The flexible design can accommodate three floors of vertical expansion and features rooms that can be used for either antepartum or postpartum care. Flower-themed artwork is used as a wayfinding element to navigate the center's four color-coded, six-room “neighborhoods.”
Mike Rodriguez, associate vice president and senior project designer at HDR, says one of the most popular areas of the facility—its two-story, sunlight-filled Celebration Plaza—was created by accident. “It was leftover space from the rooms all around it,” he says. “It's just an awesome space, and it has become one of the favorite places for patients, staff and families just to hang out.”
