Title: Sabanera Health Center
Location of Proejct: Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico
Project Completion Date: 03/2022
Firm Name: Perkins and Will

Short Description: Sabanera Health Center creates a unique healing environment to the Caribbean that focuses on enhanced patient and guest services and experience. Set in the picturesque north shore of Puerto Rico, the project provides high-quality care in a tranquil setting to a multi economical community surrounded in nature that enhances the wellness and the healing processes.

Architect's Statement: Designed and constructed during the days and months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Sabanera Health is the first full service, multi-disciplinary greenfield hospital to rise on the island in over 25 years, reflecting the resiliency and culture of the diverse communities it serves. This developer driven project was designed with an understanding that the future of healthcare delivery in the Caribbean is not just predicated on clinical excellence, but also on customer experience, positioning it to be a medical tourism hub for the region.

Located at the “front door” of the Dorado community, Sabanera Health provides a gateway to healthcare for the surrounding area and international visitors. Through deliberate material choices, the team was able to create a Sabanera brand that can be expanded to future phases and facilities. The clean, modern aesthetic and elegant interior finishes are balanced with the lush tropical landscape of the region and the hospital features 100% private rooms, a first for the island, dramatically elevating the experience for the previously underserved population of Puerto Rico. The strict design criteria for hurricane resistance in Puerto Rico make the facility an exemplar of architectural resiliency, a safe haven for its community.

Accommodating 107 patient beds, the facility meets the health needs of the adjoining communities of the Dorado Municipality, where there didn’t exist any hospital or full-service healthcare facility before the construction Sabanera Health Center. This institution will serve the community in all health areas, both in emergency and ambulatory care among other services. The facility consists of a 7-story building of approximately 188,000 gross square feet total, that can be broken down into 2 main elements: a General Hospital and a Multidisciplinary Clinic. These two elements complement each other are distributed among 3 components of the building: a tower of 7 floors accommodating 107 private patient rooms, the East Wing where the multidisciplinary clinic is located, and the West Wing where the emergency department, pediatric unit, imaging, and surgery departments all distributed in 2-stories.


Single story component of the building on the east side of the facility containing approximately 30,022 gross square feet. This section of the building encompasses the Multidisciplinary Clinic and a portion of the hospital’s administrative offices. The Clinic has 24 exam rooms of which 2 are designed for minor procedures. Additionally, the main lobby for the facility is located on this side of the structure. It also contains a separate lounge for members of one of the Sabanera Health programs being offered.
The facility is accessed through PR-696, of which a secondary two-lane road comes off leading you directly to its main entrance on the east side of the property. A second access is provided off PR-696 on the Northwest corner of the site, provided only for service and ambulance access. The facility has a utility yard on the northwestern side of the property, which houses the emergency generators, main electrical substation, and chillers. The main structure is 100 feet total in height on the Patient Room Tower side, 24 high on the East Wing and 33 feet high on the West Wing. It has a wellness courtyard in the center and a drop-off canopy that extends the length of it, providing shelter to both the East Wing for the main lobby and multidisciplinary clinic, and to the West Wing for the ER, Imaging and other supporting areas. Lastly, Sabanera Health Center has400 parking spaces, of which 20 are Handicapped, 190 for general public and 190 for faculty members and staff.