MyMichigan Selects Architect for Medical Center Expansion, Revitalization

After announcing it would remain in its existing downtown location earlier this summer, MyMichigan Medical Center Clare has selected Hord Coplan Macht as the designer and architect for the expansion and revitalization of its current facility. Pending a series of upcoming approvals, construction is expected to begin in 2025.

“The size and scope of this project is a big undertaking and, above all, incredibly important to our community. Selecting the right firm to partner with and provide just what we envision for our community and the future of health care was critical,” Marita Hattem-Schiffman, president of MyMichigan Medical Centers in Clare, Alma and Mt. Pleasant. “Hord Coplan Macht was the right fit. We immediately felt a strong cultural connection to their team, and we recognized they would deliver the best value. They just didn’t take our conceptual design as is – they came back with the most creative suggestions inclusive of ideas on how to offset costs in order to invest as much of the budget as possible into patient care services.”

Hord Coplan Macht’s impressive healthcare portfolio has grown to feature a full range of projects, including master planning, service line expansions, replacement facilities, and highly technical inpatient and outpatient care areas. Their work history includes the design of MyMichigan’s Heart and Vascular Center on the campus of MyMichigan Medical Center Midland, the patient tower at MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena and, most recently, the James T. and Elsa U. Pardee Cancer Wellness Center set to open in January 2024.

“We are thrilled to be part of such an important project and to continue our long and successful working relationship with MyMichigan Health,” said Jim Albert, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP, principal, healthcare market sector leader, Hord Coplan Macht. “Maintaining a robust rural health network is critical, and HCM is excited to collaborate with the MyMichigan team to create innovative healthcare spaces that enhance patient care services and positively impact the community.”

The expansion and revitalization project of MyMichigan Medical Center Clare is expected to cost approximately $52 million with construction to occur in up to four phases, beginning with the Emergency Department. The detailed design work is now underway with Hord Coplan Macht and is anticipated to take 12 months. Once design is complete, approvals will then be obtained from the Medical Center’s Board of Directors and then by the health system’s board in order to obtain project funding.

“The planning and design process for new and revitalized health care infrastructure is incredibly complex,” Glenn King, R.N., vice president, MyMichigan Medical Center Alma, Clare and Mt. Pleasant. “The expertise that Hord Coplan Macht provides will not only help us bring our plans to life but will set a new standard for excellent patient care and increase access to services for the entire county and beyond.”

Named a Top Rural Hospital in 2021, the Medical Center in Clare has more than 300 employees, volunteers, physicians and other personnel. It offers a full range of services in specialty areas including diabetes, emergency care, adult trauma, heart and vascular services, hyperbaric oxygen, infusion services, neurosciences, occupational health, ophthalmology, orthopedics, primary care, pulmonology, rehab services, sleep disorders, spine and pain, surgery, women’s health and wound treatment.

About Hord Coplan Macht:

Hord Coplan Macht is an architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and interior design firm. Specializing in education, healthcare, mixed-use, parks, office, and institutional facilities, the firm has offices in Alexandria, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; Charlotte, N. Carolina; and Denver, Colorado.