Louisville’s New Hospital Shines Light on Community Needs
By Fay Harvey
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first time in more than 150 years, the city of Louisville celebrated the opening a new healthcare facility west of 9th Street. The $90 million Norton West Louisville Hospital project aims to eliminate the barriers to healthcare access that have been present in the nine-neighborhood area for decades. Currently, the life expectancy for West Louisville residents is 15 years shorter than the average lifespan for residents in the entirety of Louisville. The 96,000-square-foot hospital will seek to change these statistics by offering convenient access to health and wellness services, including emergency care and specialty care for strokes, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more.
“As a dad, I know that when your child is hurt or sick, it’s scary. Every minute feels like an eternity,” said Gov. Andy Beshear in a Norton Healthcare statement. “Now, thanks to our partners at Norton Healthcare, no one in West Louisville will have to wait, because they’ll have a world-class hospital close to home.”
Hospital Layout
Within the 20-bed, state-of-the-art hospital, patients can find a 24-hour emergency department, spaces for inpatient treatment, imaging services, operating rooms, outpatient offices for adult and pediatric care, and a retail pharmacy.
Outside of the building, a monument honors medical heroes of West Louisville who dedicated their lives to providing medical care to people of color in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The monument was brought to fruition through funds donated by the family of Richard S. Wolf, M.D., through the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation, in memory of Wolf’s life and work as a pediatrician, former medical director at Norton Children’s Hospital and “Mayor” of Safety City.
The Community’s Role in Facility Design
The project broke ground in 2022, and the design-build team includes Columbus, Ohio, office of design firm Moody Nolan, Louisville-based architect Carey Anderson, the general contracting joint venture team Harmon & Messer and community construction consultants 7PM Group, OneWest and NTC. Together, the team focused on ensuring that all who enter the facility experience an environment of wellbeing, comfort, functionality that also reflects a high level of professionalism and care. For example, a public corridor alongside a centralized check-in area greets guests, providing access to different clinical services. Relaxation areas inside and outside of the facility, such as the outdoor green space and community rooms, provide a sense of calm.
The hospital occupies the former 20-acre site of a long-abandoned metal manufacturing and fabrication facility that has been transformed into the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus. Transforming the space and honoring input and ideas from local stakeholders has ensured that the campus is a source of community pride.“Members of our community were instrumental in providing feedback on the services and amenities they wanted to have in their community hospital,” said Corenza Townsend, chief administrative officer of Norton West Louisville Hospital, in a statement. “We hosted several community forums and collected data from a survey that was completed by more than 4,500 people, the majority who live or work in West Louisville.”
Designers at Moody Nolan, the nation’s largest African American-owned architecture firm, held their mission of “improve every life we touch through design” near and dear to this project, as the firm’s founding principles center on enhancing underserved communities.
“West Louisville Hospital is a shining example of improving lives and well-being within struggling and underserved communities,” said Tim Fishking, FAIA, NCARB, healthcare practice leader at Moody Nolan. “Throughout the project, our design team never took our eyes off of what we knew would be a tangible and measurable improvement of the health and lives of residents in and around West Louisville.”
Present and Future
Since opening doors, the Norton West Louisville Hospital has become a community staple. Within the first month of opening the facility on Nov. 11, 2024, the facility saw 1,363 visits to the emergency department, completed 52 surgeries and admitted 37 community members for inpatient care. Additionally, 1,875 imaging exams occurred, 261 people visited the campus’ Dare to Care food pantry and 1,623 prescriptions were filled.
“Over the past month, more than 2,500 patients have walked through our doors for medical care ranging from primary care and preventive screenings to emergency services and inpatient care,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare, in a statement. “This facility was built to help improve health equity in West Louisville and make access to care easier. This first month of care at Norton West Louisville Hospital is a major step in reaching a community goal of improving health outcomes.”
However, the facility’s structure is evergreen, as Moody Nolan developed a design that will allow the structure to continue evolving along with the community’s needs. The facility was oriented around a flexible, structural module that can accommodate a variety of clinic, inpatient, intervention and imaging modalities for programmatic use. Additionally, the facility’s position on the 20-acre site allows for future growth.
“The first hospital built in West Louisville in more than 150 years is long overdue, and I am thrilled Norton Healthcare is making this investment in our community and the people who live here,” said Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg in a statement. “I am thankful for Norton Healthcare’s belief in this project and am confident this will improve health, wellness and economic well-being for residents who’ve been underserved for too long.”