TRO Jung | Brannen has worked with the Baptist Health System for decades, most recently designing the Shelby South Tower, a project more than 20 years in the making. During this time, TRO Jung|Brannen has supported Shelby Baptist Medical Center’s quest to transform their facility into an environment for leading edge care. The South Tower includes a new lobby, chapel, 85 patient beds, 16 medical intensive care unit (MICU) beds, a new lab, central sterile, and parking deck with an elevated connector. The five-story tower was designed to visually integrate into the existing fabric of the campus while its contemporary southern façade points to the modern innovations taking place within the Hospital.

Great care was placed in creating efficient, clearly comprehensible spaces for both staff and visitors within the Tower. Warm finishes, concealment of visual clutter, and controllable access to natural daylight were used to promote wellness. Motifs of water, light and nature were also used as analogies to promote the Baptist faith-based mission. Private patient rooms were designed with custom medical headwalls to conceal medical gas connections, monitors, and other medical technological tools necessary for patient care. Comfortable seating and sleepers were placed in each room, and internet connections were provided for visitors, guests, and caregivers.

The project also included 16 MICU rooms with satellite nursing stations to accommodate patient observation. Provisions were made for privacy of the patients and family without compromising the essential round-the-clock clinical observation necessary at this level of care.