‘The majority of our work is striving for communities to achieve health equity and have access to services that they don’t normally or conveniently have access to.’

Story by: Sara Sidery on December 5, 2022

With construction of the new Norton West Louisville Hospital site underway, the architects’ designs are one step closer to becoming reality.

Tim Fishking, partner and national health care practice leader at Moody Nolan, an African American-owned architectural firm based out of Ohio, is leading the project for the first new hospital built west of Ninth Street in generations.

According to the most recent Louisville Metro Health Equity Report, residents in West Louisville have some of the highest rates in the city of death connected to heart disease, cancer and stroke. Norton Healthcare’s new hospital aims to truly change health outcomes and provide access for all residents, and the architectural plans are aligned with that mission.

“Our firm is really grounded in doing projects that support communities in need,” Tim said. “The majority of our work is striving for communities to achieve health equity and have access to services that they don’t normally or conveniently have access to.”

The new hospital will  be on the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus, located at 28^th Street and West Broadway. The 20-bed, state-of-the-art hospital will boast a high-quality look and feel that will reflect the care provided by Norton Healthcare and will be tailored to the needs of the West Louisville area.

“We want this to be a point of pride for Norton Healthcare and for the community, and also to instill a sense of trust and respect,” Tim said. “That’s going to make this a success for the neighborhoods within West Louisville.”

The hospital is being designed with the patient experience in mind, with convenience and efficiency as top priorities: a clear, easy-to-access entrance; convenient parking for patients, visitors and staff; and streamlining that aims to reduce wait times.

“The building is organized so there’s a very clear public space, which is like an airport concourse that would have distributed seating and also provide access to all the different clinical services,” Tim said.

To help reduce stress and emphasize a more calming atmosphere, the architects are discussing designs for relaxation areas both inside and outside of the hospital, such as gardens or green space.

The Moody Nolan firm is already a part of transformational development in West Louisville. The firm collaborated with Louisville architect Carey Anderson, the first Black architect in Kentucky, to design the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, the multisport complex at 30^th Street and West Muhammad Ali Boulevard in the Russell neighborhood.

“We enjoyed interacting with the community. We learned a lot about West Louisville, and we’re taking all of those lessons and those positive experiences into the work we’re doing at the hospital campus,” Tim said.

Moody Nolan is working in partnership with Carey on the new hospital project as well. They are using results from a community survey and public listening sessions to customize designs that will serve the needs of the area.

“We’re very much looking forward to engaging with the community again, because for this project to be successful, not only for Norton Healthcare, but for the West Louisville community, it needs to represent them and represent their needs,” Tim said. “We’ll always be checking our design work and decision-making against the needs and the aspirations of the community.”