Feature By Mark Reif
A Bluegrass Blueprint
Just off I-75, on the outskirts of Lexington, KY, two rectangular buildings appear, awash in light. Soft bars of luminance line one edge, while torch-like posts illuminate walking trails. Venturing inside, spaces come to life with organized LED fixtures, comprising multiple Cycle pendants from Eureka, indirect cove lighting made with Kelvix Lighting’s Vertex tape lights to simulate structural ceiling beams, and decorative Palma globes by Vibia, among other fixtures. Nature-themed finishes and artwork activate the public entries while Baker-Miller Pink-like lighting eases visitor anxiety in certain spaces.
While it might sound like a luxury hotel, the facility has a higher purpose: providing healthcare to the underserved residents of central and eastern Kentucky. During COVID-19, Baptist Health Hamburg took shape as a 339,400-sq-ft facility complete with a radiology clinic, cancer center, emergency department, and specialty practices. Engineering firm CMTA supervised planning and design while collaborating with Baptist Health, focusing on occupant experience, sustainability, and efficiency.
CMTA Managing Partner and lead designer Bill Sharp shared, “The genesis of the project, from Baptist Health’s perspective, was to create a more accessible hospital for not only central Kentucky, but eastern Kentucky and the underserved community out there.” Located at the I-75/I-64 corridor, the cutting-edge building provides convenient, modern medical access to the community, Sharp added.
Set on a 129-acre greenfield site, the hospital’s lighting design was thoughtfully crafted to support the needs of patients, clinicians, visitors, and staff alike. For example, CMTA performed detailed sunlight analyses to refine window-shading strategies in critical areas, minimizing direct sun exposure and helping maintain comfortable interior temperatures. Additionally, in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and operating room corridors, the design team implemented Prudential Lighting Bionic Perimeter Cove Lights with asymmetric throws to reduce glare and create a calmer, more restorative environment. Together, these measures and others formed a comprehensive strategy in which CMTA evaluated and fine-tuned each lighting fixture to ensure an exceptional healthcare experience.
According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, Kentucky’s Appalachian Region faces significant health challenges, including a heart disease mortality rate 45% higher than average, a cancer mortality rate 35% higher, and adults reporting physical unwellness at rates 47% above the national norm.1 As a result, the area needed a first-class healthcare facility accessible to all.
“There can be some hesitancy about going into a city when you’re from Appalachia or just outside the greater Lexington area,” Sharp said. “This is an open site—with walking trails and landscaping—designed to feel inviting and accessible. The goal was to extend that sense of care out into the community.”
Once patients arrive, they encounter exterior lighting refined during hours-long critiques, wellness-oriented walking trails, and LED fixtures with advanced dimming controls that enhance each space. The team used building-mounted Ecosense L50 luminaires for façade grazing and Kelvix Signwave 3 fixtures for direct-view continuous framing. Both are controlled via Acuity nLight networked lighting control relays. US Architectural Razar luminaires with wireless nLight Air controls provide site lighting, with integrated vacancy sensors for reduced light levels when the site isn’t in use.
The interior of the project benefits from ample natural daylight, courtesy of large exterior windows that work in concert with solar shelves, photosensors, and roller shades to adjust artificial lighting, improving comfort and reducing glare. The general lighting allows visitors to move around the facility, but there are also wayfinding and experiential moments provided by Ecosense L50 luminaires and Kelvin Signwave 3 exterior lighting, as well as US Architectural Razar pedestrian and parking fixtures when drivers are passing by on the interstate.
Regarding the project’s challenges, Sharp noted, “It’s a highly coordinated building. We had the advantage of a greenfield site, but as lighting technology evolves, it becomes more intelligent—and more complex—with far more options. There was a lot of late-night and early-morning work adjusting fixtures to achieve the right wall-wash and grazing effects. The biggest challenge was coordinating final placement across the spaces in a way that allowed the lighting to support an inviting, accessible atmosphere for patients.”
Visiting a healthcare facility can be stressful; patients require care and reassurance as they navigate health challenges, and friends and family members benefit from soothing and calm environments as they support loved ones. Physicians and staff also perform their best in optimized spaces. However, traditional settings may not account for the patients themselves. For example, traditionally, patients may experience direct glare while passing through corridors or resting in recovery areas. To address this, CMTA implemented Prudential Lighting Bionic Perimeter Cove Lights with asymmetric throws.
“We tried to make the lighting as user-friendly, patient-friendly as possible,” Sharp explained. “If you’re on a stretcher going back to the O.R., we removed the direct-light sources and put them into indirect coves, so while you’re on your back, you’re not looking straight up at standard troffers in a corridor.”
User-friendly design extends into imaging rooms, which utilize Kelvix RGBW Color Changing Tape Light with 90+ CRI for enhanced color rendering. The system emits stress-reducing Baker-Miller Pink, a specific pastel shade, which offers a touch of calm for nervous patients.
On the other hand, in the operating room, Vyv VSG LED surgical troffers with an integrated ceiling design provide bright, precise illumination for procedures. Once an operation is finished and the room is unoccupied, the system’s UV-free antimicrobial feature automatically engages, targeting viruses, bacteria, and yeast. This system supports infection control efforts and helps maintain the room’s cleanliness and sterile conditions between cases.
The project anchors its design in sustainability, beginning with lighting systems that dramatically exceed code. CMTA addressed sustainability goals with all-LED fixtures (Focal Point Seem, Gotham Evo, WAC Lighting Tesla, and more) that achieve 0.52 watts per sq ft—approximately 56% higher than the maximum code allowance. The facility also operates at 117 EUI, placing it among the most energy-efficient hospitals in the nation. (By comparison, the median U.S. hospital operates at 234 EUI.) Even the outdoor fixtures meet night-sky requirements, reducing both light pollution and energy consumption.
CMTA’s 2025 IES Illumination Award of Merit recognizes a solution that balances comfort, clarity, and efficiency—thoughtfully tuned to the needs of caregivers and patients. By mapping the full user journey, the design team shaped every space with purpose, from calming imaging suites to intuitive circulation and recovery areas.
Ultimately, the project does more than illuminate a facility—it forges a modern and welcoming path for the communities it serves. For patients across Kentucky, the hospital now stands as a place where thoughtful design supports healing at every step from admission through recovery.
THE DESIGNERS
William (Bill) Sharp, Member IES, is a managing partner at CMTA.
Jonathan Walton, Member IES, is an electrical engineer at CMTA.
THE AUTHOR
Mark Reif holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Design from Virginia Tech and completed the Postgraduate Program in User Experience Design at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a writer, designer, and poet whose work explores travel, the outdoors, and design.
1 Appalachian Regional Commission. Key Findings: Health Disparities in Appalachian Kentucky. Washington, DC: Appalachian Regional Commission, 2020.