HDR completed an extension for pediatric care with the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower expansion at the University of Mississippi Medical Center is the only medical facility in the state dedicated solely to children. Mississippians have always faced the challenge of healthcare disparities and with this new expansion in Jackson, the medical center’s ability to serve the needs of its youngest patients is dramatically elevated.

When it comes to creating a place of care for children, familiarity and comfort are of the utmost importance. The interior architecture and aesthetic express the different regions of Mississippi, with each of the seven stories dedicated to its own unique cultural or natural theme from the Gulf Coast to the hills and the flowing river to the pines. The patient journey is a story that each patient can experience through the foundational atmosphere of comfort and familiarity so that children are at ease during their checkups or extended stays.

The exterior design and selected materials are an aesthetic and physical response to the movement of the patient journey. Wrapped with metal panel with sloping ends, the podium provides direction toward entry and the lobby and the bed tower is set back from the podium with a central shift in reaction to circulation throughout the new expansion.

Many young patients depend on this hospital. The 340,000-square-foot expansion now houses the state’s only pediatric intensive care unit and emergency department and includes treatment programs for cancer, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and more. The new facility was designed with flexibility, adaptability, environmental stewardship and future expansion in mind so that the children of Mississippi have access to a place of care that will endure the test of time.

Design: HDR Photography: Dan Schwalm

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