UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower at UPMC Mercy Strategic Master Planning

The new UPMC Vision and Rehabilitation Tower will position the health system at the global forefront of ophthalmic research and care. Accommodating clinicians, researchers, educators and commercial partners, the hospital will serve as a destination for healing, an incubator for medical advancements and a hub for biomedical research.

Located on the UPMC Mercy Campus in Pittsburgh’s Uptown neighborhood, this new facility includes a nine-story tower that houses research, office and conference areas and a four-story building that is home to hospital functions including surgery, clinical and pharmacy spaces.

HOK’s Healthcare Consulting team helped plan the site as a comprehensive center of excellence with a campus feeling that will encourage collaboration, coordination, integrated multidisciplinary care and the creation of a “one-stop-shop” for patients. The interior welcomes blind and low-vision visitors with physical cues that will help them navigate through the hospital.

The team developed volume and market projections and aligned the project with UPMC’s capital strategies; conducted Lean workshops to optimize care delivery pathways; planned clinical spaces for the most efficient operations; and advised on modular, flexible solutions that will allow UPMC to easily reconfigure spaces as care delivery changes in the future.