Harbour View Hospital

To address increasing demand for inpatient care driven by population growth, Bon Secours Mercy Health embarked on a strategic expansion of its hospital campus in Suffolk, VA. The goal: enhance access to critical services while maintaining operational continuity and a patient-first approach.

Our healthcare design team designed a three-story patient tower addition that seamlessly integrates with the existing facility, which includes an Outpatient Ambulatory Surgery Center, Emergency Department, Outpatient Diagnostic Center, and Medical Office Building. Designed for I-2 (Healthcare) occupancy, the new tower required careful planning to ensure proper fire separation and code compliance between adjacent ambulatory and business occupancies.

From the start, we engaged hospital leadership in collaborative design visioning sessions—guided by both regional needs and national healthcare trends. These sessions shaped the project’s core principles and informed a design that prioritizes clinical efficiency, patient experience, and long-term adaptability.

To enhance visibility and improve site navigation, the patient tower is positioned at a strategic angle from the existing building, creating a distinct entry point that alleviates congestion on a compact and complex site. This orientation maximizes façade exposure and helps establish a welcoming identity for the new facility.

Natural materials and wood-inspired finishes are carried from exterior to interior, creating a warm, light-filled, and calming environment for patients, families, and caregivers alike. The new tower was also designed for future growth and includes; 18 medical/surgical inpatient beds, 6 observation beds, a 15-bed emergency department, 4 operating suites for on-site surgical care, expanded imaging capabilities, and on-site laboratory services.

This expansion reinforces Bon Secours Mercy Health’s commitment to delivering compassionate, high-quality care while supporting the evolving needs of the community it serves.