The City of Marshalltown’s medical center had dutifully served Marshall County residents for over 100 years in the heart of downtown. However, by the mid-2010s, it was apparent that a change in ownership and an overhaul of the current facility was needed to keep critical healthcare services available to the public. UnityPoint Health stepped in to purchase Marshalltown Hospital in 2017 to keep the hospital in operation. The facility had dealt with several hardships in recent history including severe weather events, service line closure and the recent bankruptcy filing, among others. Many areas of the existing facility were not sprinkled, noncompliant or simply broken and worn. Surgery, imaging and lab services had previously been located to an outpatient center on the south side of town in 2015, and the decision was clear that a new addition to the preexisting south campus would be the best path forward for patients, staff, client and community of Marshalltown.
The south site development was organized on site to maximize wayfinding and workflow in coordination with the original building layout. The north side houses one story of outpatient services while the south end was built as a two-story inpatient space. The masterplan grew into a 23,00-square-foot clinic addition to the north and a two-story, 72,000-square-foot hospital addition to the south. Support services were added to the west elevation while the original building was kept as the main entry in the center along the east façade. The configuration allows for logical navigation and clear delivery of care upon arrival.
The hospital addition comprises of a first-floor emergency department with 12 treatment rooms, four observation beds, an x‑ray room, inpatient lab with a kitchen and dining area. The second floor holds a 16-bed inpatient unit with respiratory therapy, physical therapy and an inpatient pharmacy. The clinic addition called for 24 exam rooms for family medicine and multispecialty services with a sleep lab and administrative offices. Other programming includes a 5,500 square foot emergency medical services building with a 5‑bay ambulance garage and eight sleep rooms, relocation of the helicopter landing pad and renovation of the cardiac rehab program.
Design for the project began in 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a new working environment for the design team to work remotely for a client in the healthcare sector. The UnityPoint team graciously took time to strategize over screens to keep the project moving forward. Hospital services began their move to the new campus in March of 2022, a month after substantial completion, before opening to the public on April 27, 2022. Healthcare services never stopped during the relocation, allowing the citizens of Marshalltown to receive continued medical care during the entirety of the build schedule. Moving an entire hospital was a fresh start for this resilient community and a project our firm is proud to be a part of.
