Research Hospital in Memphis Adding Spacious Family Commons Space

By HCO Staff

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in collaboration with AbbVie, is building a 45,000-square-foot, family-centered care facility within the Memphis hospital, called Family Commons.

Slated to be completed later this year, it will be the first-ever treatment-and-clinical-staff-free floor at St. Jude—offering patients and families a space to congregate, relax, attend school, play music, or grab a cup of coffee in between clinic appointments. The final design team included ANF Architects, ICrave, and Evans Taylor Foster Childress Architects.

St. Jude President and CEO Dr. James Downing conceptualized this project alongside St. Jude clinical care providers and the institution’s Patient Family Advisory Council members. Family Commons is a response to a need the team noticed for a sanctuary-type space where patients and their families can spend private, relaxation time together amid some of the most challenging times these families will ever face.

Spaces in the vital new venue are expected to include:

• A new preschool program with expanded resources for patients and family members, allowing them to accelerate their learning at an early age and keep pace with their peers back home;
• An open play area including an outdoor patio, living room area and 19 custom-built resting nooks that offer privacy and lounge space;
• A private area offering coffee, snacks and a general store for patient families to reconnect and recharge;
• Centralized patient and concierge services to meet the various unique needs of families including housing, transportation, food and care coordination, allowing parents to focus on their child’s care; and
• A Parent Share Area for families to get non-clinical answers from other St. Jude parents.