Bassett Army Community Hospital
Fairbanks, Alaska

Bassett Army Community Hospital is located in Fort Wainright in Fairbanks, Alaska. The beautiful and modern facility was built in the year 2006. Until recently, a Wayfinding Signage System had never been implemented in the facility. The existing signs in the new facility were aesthetically unpleasing, logistically impractical, and were unsuccessful at helping the public navigate the hospital. Most importantly, the existing signage system was a slat-based system that was difficult and expensive to maintain. GDS was contracted by Bassett Army Hospital in the winter of 2008 to conduct a comprehensive Wayfinding Study for the hospital.

In the Spring of 2009, GDS competed with other GSA-contract sign companies and won the bid to fabricate and install the newly developed Wayfinding Signage System at the hospital. In addition to working with the Facilities Department at Bassett, GDS worked with the Army Core of Engineers, J & J Worldwide Services, and a Hospital Signage Committee consisting of Army Medical Staff and Commanding Officers.

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The unique round shape of the hospital caused many wayfinding issues. Patients and visitors were literally walking around in circles looking for their desired departments. The hospital had no main directory at the entrance, no elevator directory signs, inadequate overhead signage identifying hall­ways, and the wall directories lacked clarity and purpose. Critical departments such as the Emer­gency Room, Pharmacy, and Primary Care Clinics were poorly identified and difficult to locate from the main lobby for the public. In addition to requiring basic wayfinding signs at major public areas and intersections, Basset needed an overall Wayfinding Design Concept within the hospital. The various floors and wings of the hospital were not separated distinctively. The graphics within the existing signage system failed at helping the public identify which part of the building they were presently in.
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GDS worked with the Bassett Signage Committee to label the floors and wings of the hospital, based on 5 colors and animals that were native to Alaska. The animals chosen were the eagle (auburn), a ptarmigan (green), a salmon (salmon), and a snowy owl (blue). GDS incorporated the animals and colors on all of the wayfinding signage. As is always the case, GDS developed a Wayfinding Sign System that was highly changeable, with the use of computer generated inserts.

GDS installed three main directories at critical access points, elevator directories on every floor, and used over­head signage to identify specific hallways and departments. The path to the Emergency Room was high­lighted throughout the hospital using red overheads. The path to the Pharmacy was also clearly labeled. The Primary Care area of the hospital, which had been the most confusing part of the hospital because it was located in the most “round” part of the hospital, became clearer because GDS simplified the paths by
which visitors could travel.

GDS utilized various sign types to encourage patients to take linear paths to their desired departments, and then back out to the lobbies. GDS’ solutions were simple, yet very effective. GDS set Basset Army Community Hospital up with the necessary equipment and templates to be able to maintain their sign inserts internally. The sign standards developed for this project will be carried out through other facilities within the MEDDAC-Alaska system.

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