Gensler designed an innovative new location for the health system of Henry Ford Medical Center Bloomfield in Pontiac, Michigan.

As one of healthcare’s long leaders in practice redesign, The Henry Ford Medical Group embraces innovations that make clinical care safer and easier for patients and staff alike.

The Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) enlisted the help of Gensler to reimagine its ambulatory care strategy. Although a system with six hospitals and over 50 medical centers around the Detroit region, HFHS was in the midst of an expansion and saw design as a tool for improving the patient and staff experience and their operational success. The design, along with HFHS leadership, co-developed a visioning document to establish goals and strategies for ambulatory care expansion. This vision resulted in six strategies: patient-centered ambulatory care, universal instead of independent, attraction and retention of top talent, technology for improved patient and staff experience, lean approach to patient experience, and respect for our brand.

These strategies to foster a new clinical culture for the HFHS staff, care providers and patients were implemented in three Detroit suburb locations: Bloomfield Township, Royal Oak, and Plymouth Township. Bloomfield Township includes 80,000 sq. ft. of space for various ambulatory care specialties: orthopedics; physical therapy and rehab; ophthalmology; women’s health; primary care; pediatrics; neurology; and radiology with a CT and MRI port, as well as a walk-in clinic, retail eyeglass clinic, pharmacy and lab. Royal Oak adds an out-patient surgery suite, and Plymouth Township adds an out-patient surgery suite and an Emergency Department.

To improve the patient experience, patient arrival was reconfigured with flexible options for check-in and registration flowing through clear wayfinding and both centralized and decentralized self-service kiosks and concierge podiums. Patients are then assigned to portals where their physicians are located, in optimized exam rooms with flexible layouts that allow for varied treatment. The new design also improves staff experience by aligning type of work with work space; natural light infiltrates the back of the clinic to energize shared space for collaboration, while a coworking area allows for heads-down work. With a lean and efficient medical planning strategy across both sites, the design aesthetic blends an urban industrial framework infused with the comfort of lake house-inspired textile while elements of nature creates a comfortable and consistent experience for both patients and staff.

Starting with the Bloomfield Township project, Henry Ford Health System embraced a large culture shift that transformed previously siloed departments into dynamic, flexible clinics—breaking barriers that once separated staff and segmented the patient experience.

Architect: Gensler
Photography: Ryan Southen