Providence Saint Joseph Emergency Department

The new Jaromír Střížka Emergency Department at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, features signage, wayfinding and environmental graphics designed by Altitude Design Office. Envisioned to better meet the current volume of patients and accommodate future growth, the new 48-bed, 34,500 square-foot ground-up building is three times the size of the Medical Center’s previous ER, and is designed with highly visible and clear signage as well as soothing graphics that ease patients’ experience and facilitate the highly-skilled staff’s efficient and effective response.

Altitude designed layers of small details and subtle textures into the Emergency Department’s signage program so that this high-performance facility wouldn’t feel like a typical hospital. With a color palette of cool and calming greens, blues and grays, architectural graphics and patterns are inspired by the Verdugo Mountains nearby. Wood, glass, and metallic accents add sophistication, while all materials were selected to support health, safety and durability. All signs have also been carefully designed and coordinated by Altitude to meet California’s Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) codes and regulations.

Altitude’s work on signage systems, design around the donor elements, and graphics were a major design layer in this success! I love working with your team and seeing this come to life.”
Carissa Nook, Associate Principal at Boulder Associates Architects

The $78 million cost of this new building was entirely funded by nearly 3,000 donors. To recognize this monumental support, Altitude designed an extensive donor recognition program that includes three artistic installations that illustrate the support given by the Toluca Lake and Burbank communities, and by the community of Providence Saint Joseph physicians.

Donors’ names are thoughtfully integrated into the signage program to appropriately represent the generosity of the gifts without creating confusion or clutter, especially when speed and clarity are critical to the Emergency Department’s function.

A donar wall with wooden half circle plaques of different sizes spaced evenly horizontal on a light blue wall with an elderly women in a wheelchair and an elderly man pushing her passes by.

So often, patients come to the Emergency Department worried, scared and in pain, and it’s our job to not only ensure each patient receives the care they need, but they also receive it in a timely fashion. This new ED places every tool we need to do our jobs at our fingertips. Because of that, the number of patients we’re able to care for, as well as patient flow, will greatly improve.”
Debbie Buffham, MSN, RN, executive director of emergency services at Providence Saint Joseph

providence.org