Together, the team transformed 18,000 sq ft of former outpatient and administrative space into the modern Family Birth Center, featuring five birthing suites, 14 postpartum and antepartum rooms, a dedicated C-section operating room and a new Level II neonatal intensive care unit capable of caring for infants born as early as 32 weeks.

Photo by Kevin Scott

Once the relocation was complete, the former birth center was converted into 24 acute-care patient rooms, raising St. Francis Hospital’s licensed bed count to 158. In the Level II NICU, upgraded systems and specialized equipment allow families in Federal Way to remain close to their newborns without traveling to Seattle or Bellevue for higher-acuity care.

Delivered on time, on budget and without a single recordable injury, project teams credit early coordination and a highly structured planning process for meeting the hospital’s cost and schedule goals.

P2S noted that the work began with a detailed scoping visit and stakeholder engagement effort that aligned sequencing, constraints and facility operations early in design.

“Quality control was baked into every phase, with each deliverable undergoing senior-level review for technical accuracy and coordination,” the firm stated in its submission.

That rigor proved essential when an evaluation of the hospital’s aging medical gas system revealed undersized equipment and insufficient oxygen storage for both daily operations and emergency surges. Working with Sellen, the owner and equipment suppliers, P2S designed significant infrastructure upgrades, increasing oxygen capacity from the original 1,325 gallons to a 9,000-gallon main tank with a 1,500-gallon reserve.

Photo by Kevin Scott

The team also overhauled medical air, vacuum and alarm systems. Keeping the hospital fully operational required temporary rental equipment and a carefully choreographed half-day shutdown with backfeeding strategies to maintain continuous oxygen delivery.

The team described the switchover as a key example of the “early planning, close collaboration and rigorous quality control” that defined the project. Inside the birth center, design quality focused on patient comfort, clinical efficiency and quiet, calming environments. Perkins+Will’s warm palette, curved forms and adjustable lighting aimed to create a home-like setting for families, while P2S engineered low-noise ventilation and plumbing systems to support restful spaces.