The Pediatrics Department of the Santa Cruz Main Clinic is moving into a space built from the ground up with infants, children and adolescents in mind. The third-floor remodel had previously been designed as general clinic space.

“It was a major remodel,” Michael Rankin, M.D., one of the department’s pediatricians, says. “I don’t think a single wall was left standing, except for those that had to be.”

The unique needs of pediatric patients influenced the clinic design, say Dr. Rankin and his colleague Susan Borba, M.D., both of whom were part of the design team. First of all, the waiting room and exam rooms must be more spacious because pediatric patients come with at least one family member, and often several. Babies and toddlers also come with strollers, which require room to maneuver.

“When we planned the remodel, we considered if the parents of triplets would be able to get a double or triple stroller through our department,” Dr. Borba says. “Fortunately, the physicians actively participated in the remodeling plans, and this resulted in clinical space that will meet the needs of patients, staff and providers.”

In addition, patients and their parents appreciate a space that is safe and suited to them. “We see children from birth to age 18, so we need a waiting room big enough so that parents of newborns do not have to sit next to a coughing toddler, and teens could sit a bit apart in an area that felt more grown up,” Dr. Borba says.

The remodeled department has 12 exam rooms, two procedure rooms and two large bathrooms that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The remodeled space will accommodate around 100 patient visits each day.

To decorate the new space, the pediatricians helped select soothing child-friendly colors with the help of an interior designer and decided on a selection of fun ocean-themed photos that had been taken by colleague Patty Hinz, M.D., a family medicine physician and professional photographer. New lighting will create a brighter and friendlier space. In addition, a flat screen television in the waiting room will play ocean-themed DVDs purchased from the Monterey Bay Aquarium to keep parents and kids entertained.

“We wanted the pediatric unit to look different from the typical adult clinical space so that parents and patients would know instantly that they had arrived in the right place when they walked in,” Dr. Rankin says.

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