HSHS St. Vincent Hospital has served the Green Bay community for more than 130 years. In 2015, the healthcare provider announced a dedicated children’s hospital within its existing facility – one of only five children’s hospitals in the state – that serves nearly 20,000 pediatric visits annually.

Four years later, the healthcare provider took its commitment to area kids a step further with the opening of the HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital Pediatric Emergency Center. The 2,500 square feet of renovated space included a large play area with interactive games, a spacious waiting room and six patient rooms specifically designed for children. The ultimate goal was to create an environment of hope and healing, which was done through the use of evidence-based design.

The new facility was intended to put families at ease, utilizing forest murals at the head of each bed and a Northwoods theme throughout. Customizable colored lighting offers kids the opportunity to choose their favorite color within each patient room.

The flooring was used to create spaces that look like a forest pathway with large, pebble-like insets and green sheet vinyl to represent grass, complementing the overall nature theme. The floor pattern follows the shape of a few wall graphics in order to extend the pathway visually.

A challenge successfully met by H.J. Martin and Son personnel was unique pattern cutting and ensuring that pattern lines lined up to wall graphics. To illustrate, there is a path cut into the hallway that meets up to a path in the tree graphic on the wall; these line up to create Trompe l’oeil.

Tarkett iQ Optima homogeneous sheet vinyl – in the colors of Malt, Forest Thickett and Clover Leaf – was utilized in the hallways, patient rooms and waiting area. Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) by Tandus Centiva, in Ore and Ash colors, was used in the reception area.

A team of seven company installers completed the phased work over a five-month period in the second half of 2019.

The project was the Gold Winner in the Healthcare category of the 2020 Starnet Design Awards, a national competition judged by industry experts based on the creative use of flooring, flooring design and integration into the overall space, and successfully meeting client objectives. It also received top honors in the Commercial Resilient category of the 2020 Floor Covering Installer Installation Awards, which celebrates skilled and creative flooring installations.