Architects from Pope and Associates of St. Paul, Minn., revealed some preliminary information about the new Hamilton Hospital project Thursday afternoon as they work towards a developing a design for the structure. Hospital staff, community members and hospital trustees gathered to hear an update on the project.

The architects and consultants have been meeting with staff in recent weeks to get an understanding of the space needs, patient volumes and demographics.

Mary Gorman, medical planner for Pope and Associates, and herself a nurse, said, "We're beginning to see some trends with regard to the demographics and volume. Knowing who's coming through your doors helps us when it comes to developing our plan."

Gorman said the number of patients admitted was remaining static, but patient days were continuing to increase. The "patient days" number reflects the length of stay at the hospital, she explained.