The Harborview Bond Program leadership delegation embarked on a new tour this month, visiting two nationally recognized hospitals to gather critical insights for the new inpatient medical tower project: Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia.

The team of project managers, government and hospital administrators, clinical directors, and facilities staff, spent four intensive days examining operational workflows, design innovations, and patient care environments. These carefully selected facilities, both serving as Level I trauma centers with similar patient volumes and complexity to Harborview, provided blueprints to elevate the design, operations, and functionality of their projects and teams.

From emergency department layouts to operating rooms, the site visits revealed insights into the importance of centering patient outcomes, staff engagement, and operational efficiency. Team members saw patients using automated frosted glass in their rooms, hospital lobbies repurposed by staff, and learned more about the value of pre-fabricated building elements. These real-world examples provided concrete solutions to challenges the Harborview Bond Program has been theorizing about for months.

“The hospital tours were not only inspiring, but they also provided key insights to challenges encountered through the various teams’ journeys, and innovative solutions that emerged as a response to complex challenges,” said April Harr, Harborview Medical Center and Harborview Bond Program Project Manager.

The visits highlighted the importance of designing for flexibility, as both East Coast hospitals demonstrated how their infrastructure adapted to evolving care models and technology integration over time.

The Bond team started integrating what they learned received into various areas of the planning phase, as well as into negotiations with the design-builder selected for the Harborview project.

“These valuable lessons learned will be used to inform the Harborview Bond Team as we embark on the design of the new inpatient tower and associated renovation work,” said Harr.

When the project progresses to the pre-design phase, the insights gathered during these site visits will continue to refine the campus vision, elevating it from a standard hospital expansion to a model facility that embodies the best practices in modern healthcare and trauma care delivery.