Named after healthcare icon Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Jr, co-founder of HCA Healthcare, the new six-story College of Medicine building is oriented near existing nursing, pharmacy and health science buildings. The new facility extends the campus health and wellness corridor, offering an inter-professional educational experience for the fast-growing university. Tapping into ESa’s 60- plus years of designing award-winning healthcare facilities, the design team leveraged ESa’s healthcare and higher education design experience.
The new facility will feature a simulation center housed on two dedicated floors, tailored to educating students in an immersive and inter-professional clinical simulation setting. The center will serve two types of learning, skillsbased and clinical team learning. Specialized training spaces will include skills, assessment and assisted daily living labs; a suite of patient rooms; inpatient and community pharmacies; and a standardized patient suite. These areas will be supported by dedicated virtual and augmented reality labs and debriefing spaces.
The first two floors of the building will be public facing and campus focused. Large lecture spaces and learning studios will support case-based learning for the medical students with flexibility to adapt for the future. A café, media center, study rooms and society houses will provide study and community spaces. Reflecting the established campus architectural context and positioned near arts and wellness programs, the new building is designed to support Belmont’s whole-person approach to medical education.
