The pioneering lean healthcare design by ZGF Architects in Seattle was recognized in 2013 AIA/AAH Healthcare Design Awards and has since been toured by many architects and healthcare providers as an innovative case study for how to design and implement many lean healthcare design principles. JR Abbott led construction with “an aggressive 24-month design and construction schedule and modest construction budget of $13.6 million ($225 per square foot),” per Medical Design and Construction.

Completed in 2012, the two story 60,000 square foot facility houses over 20 medical specialties. Central to this design and the flexibility required to deliver on the Everett Clinic’s mission to “do what is right for each patient; provide and enriching and supportive care environment; and deliver value in quality, cost and service” is the lean principle of on-stage off-stage access to patient exam rooms. For such a configuration to work, sliding doors are an integral piece of the puzzle as dual entry exam rooms need to be as space efficient as possible and two doors swinging into a small space is not at all “lean.” AD Systems (then known as Aurora Doors) furnished the sliding doors for all of the exam rooms at the facility and interior storefronts that separate “pods” of specialties to create an efficient flow of patients through the space while minimizing wait times. The sliding doors used at the Everett Clinic are typical of what AD Systems now calls Examslide™: a top-hung sliding door system with no exposed floor track that features dual soft-closers to prevent slams and reduce maintenance, flush wood doors and a high performance perimeter frame that is designed to improve acoustical performance, safeguard visual privacy by eliminating perimeter gaps and that is easy to clean and resilient to the demands of a high traffic clinic environment. In some areas, locking functionality is used for security.

The innovation at TEC Smokey Point has been written about extensively by Healthcare Design, Medical Construction and Design, Architect and others. The concept proved successful and in 2016, the Everett Clinic opened it Shoreline clinic in order to better serve its South Snohomish County patients. This 40,000 square foot facility will also house over 20 specialties and also features AD Systems sliding doors for exam room and other locations. ZGF Architects and Abbot Construction again led the design and building of the facility which included conversation of an existing grocery store into a 69 exam full service clinic. Check out a virtual reality tour of the TEC Shoreline Clinic as posted by ZGF Architects and see the innovative and beautiful design for yourself: ZGF Architects

As the Everett Clinic continues to expand to service its almost 300,000 patients in Snohomish County, many look to the facility and its trade partners as a model for innovation in healthcare design and delivery.

The sliding doors used at the Everett Clinic are typical of what AD Systems now calls Examslide™: a top-hung sliding door system with no exposed floor track that features dual soft-closers to prevent slams and reduce maintenance, flush wood doors and a high performance perimeter frame that is designed to improve acoustical performance, safeguard visual privacy by eliminating perimeter gaps and that is easy to clean and resilient to the demands of a high traffic clinic environment.