The Sheps Hair Transplant Clinic, Laser Rejuvenation Clinic, & Dermatology Clinic

Written by Treena Khan
Winnipeg Free Press
WorkPlaces Reviews
September 27, 1999

Address:
2nd floor, 205 Edmonton Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Number of employees: 17
Cost of demolition and renovation: $235,000

In Dr. Micheal Sheps line of work, hairy situations are standard.

But the last thing he needs are patients light headed with anxiety before surgery.

So 18 months ago, Sheps moved his hair transplant clinic out of the crowded, institutional Medical Arts Building on Kennedy Street into a quiet, two-storey building the next block over.

He hired Cooper Rankin Architects and Debbie Grant of Grant Design Group to create a space that feels less like ER and more like R & R.

The second floor of the 1960s building was completely gutted. Cooper and Grant started from scratch - deciding where the walls should be and customizing furniture.

"The bottom line is privacy and intimacy", says Sheps, who runs the largest hair transplant clinic in Winnipeg. Men are just starting to become comfortable with cosmetic surgery but they are still apprehensive about who is going to see them in the building.

The second floor walk-up is a big difference from the bustling Medical Arts building, where Sheps' patients had to fight for an elevator up to the 14th floor. Now, few people see the people who walk up the stairs, and even fewer see those who walk out the private back door after surgery.

The hair transplant clinic shares 4,000 square feet with a dermatology clinic and a laser cosmet clinic. But Cooper made sure to separate the public, insured dermatology area from the private, fee-for-service cosmetic areas.

The doorway from the stairwell turns right into the large, bright dermatology waiting room, visible through floor-to-ceiling glass doors. But the angled hallway leads the cosmetic patients into the private cosmetic waiting room.

Grant had the walls done in a faux finish in neutral colors with blue-grey carpeting. The effect is one of both cleanliness and serenity, she says.

The unique angled ceiling also makes the narrow hallway feel spacious, not cramped. Bright purple and green neon lights covered with perforated steel on the wall and thin copper tubes -an image reminiscent of hair follicles, Grant laughs - literally point hair transplant patients in the right direction. Unlike the dermatology clinic, the hair transplant clinic has an opaque glass door. As Cooper points out, it protects the privacy of people inside. The waiting room is also radically different. The dermatology clinic has the vinyl flooring and rows of chairs typical of medical clinic settings.

Second Floor Entrance

With as many as 100 patients going through the dermatology side during the day, the emphasis is on efficiency.

The smaller hair transplant clinic offers a cozy living room atmosphere. Grant chose high quality blue carpeting for this area and ordered easy chairs with complimentary blue fabric and maple armrests around a maple coffee table. Instead of bright fluorescent lights, this room has warmer pot lighting. There is no TV, but a state-of-the-art music system.

Receptionist Area

Even the receptionist's desk is maple with a painted glass top. Underlighting gives it the effect of floating over the floor, Grant says. "People coming in are feeling very sensitive. They don't want bright lights to show everything," says Grant. And at $3,000 for a three-hour surgery, they also deserve upscale surroundings, Sheps adds.

The two "operatories" where Sheps and his six surgical assistants perform transplant procedures were also given designer treatment. Cooper created large rooms that Sheps says are twice the size of the ones he used at the Medical Arts building.

"With four nurses, myself and a patient in an operatory, we need the space" Sheps says. "It sure makes my job easier if the patients aren't feeling claustrophobic.

Grant chose greens, grey and blues for these rooms to create a calm atmosphere for patients. The seamless vinyl flooring is easy to keep clean. A second music system for the operatories allows music to be played during surgery. Sheps says he likes classical guitar while he's working, and while some of his younger nurses want something a little more upbeat, "I've got to be relaxed in there," he says.

Operatory

The operatories are located along outside walls so that they are filled with natural light for both doctor and patient. Cooper also ensured that the dermatology rooms have large ousted windows, noting that natural light is important for skin examinations. The hair transplant operatories also feature state-of-the-art surgical lights and special fluorescent lighting that does not generate heat.

Maple cutting counters were built along the wall with the input of staff so that they are just the right height. Head nurse Shirley McCullough says they allow her to sit comfortably for long periods of time while she prepares the micrografts for surgery.

Micrografting Dissection

Light tables that are set into the countertop and under-cabinet lights make it easy for the nurses to see what they're doing, and cutouts in tabletop make it easy to dispose of waste. "The main thing is to avoid fatigue. We used to have to hunch over," she says. Hiring architects and interior designers to create upscale offices is a new trend in cosmet dermatology, notes Sheps. The industry is beginning to boom, and doctors are trying to respond to clients' needs for relaxation.

Sheps, who spends most of his time in the hair transplant clinic, says he performs as many as 25 surgeries a month. When he opened his clinic 20 years ago, he performed one a month.

Treena Khan is a freelance writer for the Winnipeg Free Press and can be reached at khan@freepress.mb.ca