North Pavilion Opens: A New Era of Patient Care

Earlier this month, the UMass Memorial Medical Center proudly unveiled the North Pavilion, a technologically advanced, acute-care, inpatient facility located at 378 Plantation Street in Worcester. This addition to the Medical Center’s University Campus represents a significant expansion of our inpatient capacity and a major milestone in our commitment to delivering high-quality patient care.

The North Pavilion is a 73,000 sq. ft. building set on 4.1 acres, featuring four patient floors with a total of 72 private, acute-care beds. Each patient floor has 18 single rooms. The facility is designed to support our caregivers in providing optimal care and creating a healing environment for our patients.

The North Pavilion addresses several challenges faced by the Medical Center, such as lack of available inpatient beds and increased wait times for patients in our Emergency Department (ED). The expansion is expected to improve ED throughput, improve access to tertiary care in Central Massachusetts and help UMass Memorial plan for the demands of an aging population.

During the ribbon-cutting, UMass Memorial Health President and CEO Eric Dickson, MD emphasized the importance of this new facility, explaining that the opening of the North Pavilion helps address the dire need to expand inpatient capacity.

Additionally, Medical Center President Justin Precourt noted, “Central Massachusetts is one of the most under-bedded areas of the state, yet we're also one of the only areas in the state that continues to grow. This building will help address those needs that we face.”

The new location offers care to patients with medical-surgical acuity equal to the Medical Center’s other University Campus “med-surg” units. Outpatient CT and ultrasound services will begin in the coming weeks. While the North Pavilion does not have an emergency department or intensive care unit, the facility has code teams, which include on-site, 24/7 paramedics for airway management and dedicated ambulance transport to ensure patient safety and care.

Patients receiving care at the North Pavilion can expect a technologically sophisticated and comfortable environment. Each room is equipped with state-of-the-art beds that enable voice commands, computers by the bedside for connectivity with nursing staff, private handicap-accessible bathrooms, audio visual cameras for telehealth appointments, large flat-screen TVs for accessing charts and entertainment, and digital whiteboards displaying real-time information about the patient's care team and schedule.

The building's advanced technology includes large monitors with cameras in each room for remote consultations with doctors, complementing in-person care. Additionally, the North Pavilion has been built to LEED silver specifications for its environmental efficiency.

The opening of the North Pavilion will impact the community in other ways as well, as it has created nearly 500 jobs for local workers and has allowed UMass Memorial to reinvest millions of dollars back into the community through contracting with local businesses, including women- and minority-owned businesses, on many aspects of the project.?

The North Pavilion also showcases the incredible talent and diversity of local artists. The building’s art collection includes 240 pieces of artwork by 130 local artists, created using a wide variety of media. Central Massachusetts nature scenes adorn many patient rooms, while the patient corridor art features familiar urban and rural locations, traditional and abstract painted scenes, textiles in various forms, and patterns and techniques inspired by traditions from around the world.

We are excited to welcome our patients and caregivers to the North Pavilion and look forward to the positive impact it will have on our community. This new facility is a testament to UMass Memorial’s dedication to providing exceptional care and meeting the evolving needs of our patients and community.