Transforming Heart Health Through Strategic Design: The Jewel & Jim Plumb Heart Center 

THE CHALLENGE  

Located in Eastern Iowa, Mercy Cedar Rapids set forth a strategic initiative to establish itself as the premier provider of cardiovascular care in the Cedar Rapids area. As part of this initiative, Mercy aimed to expand its cardiology services while enhancing patient access to vital screenings and early detection of heart conditions.  

In collaboration with our construction and design teams, Mercy demonstrated a clear vision while exploring valuable operational opportunities. The current clinic structure and workflows presented a chance to enhance the delivery of cardiovascular services in response to increasing demand. Additionally, the project also provided an opportunity to incorporate intentional design elements that would address the specific needs of their patient population. 

Our construction, architecture and interior design teams walked alongside Mercy to achieve its long-term vision while also serving as the strategic partner through our collective approach and healthcare expertise.  

THE SOLUTION

Fostering a nearly 30-year-old relationship with Mercy, we successfully designed and constructed the technologically advanced Jewel & Jim Plumb Heart Center, establishing 72,000-SF of space for comprehensive cardiovascular care.  

The Plumb Heart Center's ground floor features a two-story lobby, rehab and physical therapy space, including an indoor-outdoor track, imaging suite for MRI, CTs and nuclear medicine, flexible conference rooms, café, and a non-denominational peace room, while the upper-level houses 72 exam rooms and staff support areas.    

The Plumb Heart Center's showcases Mercy’s vision throughout the entire facility. For example: 

• Our design team worked in partnership with Yellow Truck Creative (Ryan’s in-house, award-winning creative agency) to develop custom illustrations and environmental graphics for the building, enhancing the patient and visitor experience while honoring the organization's faith-based roots. By integrating design elements like EKG-inspired films on frosted glass walls and colors from the interior palette, they created a cohesive, welcoming atmosphere that reflects the healing qualities of sunlight.
   
• The angled and colored exterior feature glass serves as a nod to Mercy’s historic stained-glass collection and Catholic roots. Paired with the campus’ traditional red brick, the exterior design modernizes Mercy’s faith-based brand and offers a welcoming experience for all patients.  
   
• The interiors are designed to feel bright and welcoming, using color and light to evoke hope and optimism, contributing to a positive patient experience. The design emphasizes an approachable, easy-to-navigate experience through large navigation graphics, simple flooring patterns and a color-coded exam hallway system.
   
• Our team re-envisioned the typical standard waiting experience by reducing square-footage allocations from waiting areas to patient care and staff areas, implementing sub-wait zones throughout the different departments, and creating dedicated waiting areas for pediatrics and older adults. 
   
• To enhance staff collaboration, the design centralized staff collaboration zones and pairs them with adjacent physician offices. Three open collaboration pods feature height-adjustable workstations and informal meeting spaces, while physician offices were positioned along a central corridor to maximize daylight and visibility into the collaboration zones.
   
• A chair-centric exam room was designed to better serve the patient population and the infrequent need for patients to use a traditional exam table for their provider visit. This design strategy improved comfort for patients and functionality for staff.

THE PROCESS 

Our process was collaborative and integrated, built upon a long-standing relationship with the client.  Strategic steps included: 

• Shadowing & Observation. Our design team shadowed clinical staff and engaged with physicians and stakeholders to understand the existing flow of patients, staff and materials, ensuring that the design directly addressed their needs. 
   
• Stakeholder Engagement. Over a five-month design period, our healthcare architects and interior designers conducted regular stakeholder meetings with more than 40 participants, including department leads, facilities managers and leadership.
   
•  Integrated Design and Construction Teams. Operating as a fully integrated design-build team, construction was active during the design phase to understand the client’s goals and design intent and was closely integrated with design decisions. Our integrated approach enabled us to do early buy-out of structural steel, roofing, and glass to avoid procurement delays and negative schedule impacts.  

“Ryan was a fantastic partner and helped us navigate the project through challenging market conditions; their efforts and planning before we broke ground helped to insulate Mercy from price hikes and procurement delays. The building is a beautiful addition to Mercy’s campus in downtown Cedar Rapids and the functionality has been valuable as we brought cardiovascular services under one roof.”  

— Jim Atty, FACHE, Executive director at MERCY CEDAR RAPIDS - jewel & jim plumb heart center

THE RESULTS

By expanding and modernizing its facilities to support the growth of its cardiovascular services, Mercy offers an efficient, welcoming environment that promotes cardiovascular health education and comprehensive care, which has resulted in:  

• Enhanced Program Flow. Our design team conducted shadowing sessions with clinical staff to better understand the existing patient, staff, and material flow. This helped inform how to optimize the layout to improve efficiency and accessibility of staff, waiting and exam spaces, leading to a more effective use of space. 
   
• Elevated Community-Focused Features. The transformation of an underutilized street into a pocket park allows for community gatherings, creating a welcoming environment that encourages interaction and community engagement.
   
• Accessible Cardiovascular Health Education Space. The incorporation of visible CPR/AED training stations and a flexible education room reinforces the organization's commitment to health education and community awareness around heart health.
   
• Enhanced Staff Collaboration: The centralized collaboration zones positioned physician offices closer to the nursing team stations, allowing for improved collaboration, reduced hierarchy between physicians and nurses, and more cohesive patient care.

The collaboration with Mercy Cedar Rapids not only further cemented the organization as a leader in cardiology services in eastern Iowa, it also established a scalable model for patient-centered healthcare design.