Hospitals aren’t the only ones adapting their environments to support a more team-based approach to cancer care. “Probably every academic institution is looking at their cancer service line in the clinical world as well as the research,” says Jon Crane, senior vice president, director, translational health sciences at HDR (Atlanta).
Ninety percent—that’s the amount of time Americans spend indoors, from homes to offices to retail spaces and healthcare facilities, according to Mayo Clinic.
One thing is certain: Today’s architecture and design students are inspired and ready to bring new ideas and changes to the industry. Healthcare Design spoke with students at leading universities to find out what put them on their career path and what challenges and solutions they’ve already got up their sleeves. Here, we share profiles of these student.
Cancer treatment at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus can take patients on a fragmented journey—from its main four-story Taussig Cancer Institute, to the Gamma Knife Center three blocks away, to radiation oncology in yet another building, and then across campus for surgery services. The splintered set-up also spreads out clinicians, care teams, and support services, making it difficult to deliver a team-based approach.
Jessica Welch’s college path was anything but clear. Having grown up in a family of doctors, she thought she’d follow them into the medical field. But when she started her studies, she didn’t enjoy the classes as much as she thought she would. She decided to change course and pursue a love for art instead by earning a degree in fine arts with a minor in architecture. For her next step, she wanted to “make a difference”—and considered joining organizations such as Teach for America and the Peace Corps before she started looking into graduate schools.
At the 2015 Healthcare Design Expo & Conference (Nov. 14-17, Washington, D.C.), Deborah Adler, the founder of Adler Design in New York City, will present the closing keynote presentation, “Go to the Gemba!” on Tuesday, Nov. 17.
In this conference preview, Healthcare Design talks with Adler about her career and how working in the gemba has inspired new ideas for the healthcare industry.
At the 2015 Healthcare Design Expo & Conference (Nov. 14-17, Washington, D.C.), Ken Schmidt, brand visionary and former director of communications strategy for Harley-Davidson Motor Co., will present the opening keynote presentation, “Creating Customer Loyalty,” on Sunday, November 15.
In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.
Patrick E. Duke is managing director at CBRE | Healthcare (Richmond, Va.). Here, he shares his thoughts on facility asset optimization, the future of printing on construction, and the paradigm shift in project delivery.
1. New way to talk portfolio
The evolution toward less institutionalized behavioral healthcare environments is also influencing the design of care spaces dedicated to younger populations. For starters, gone are the days when parents were locked out of a facility and permitted to see their child for only 20 minutes a day. Instead, today’s adolescent and children’s mental hospitals are welcoming parents in—and inviting them to stay.
LED technology’s reputation as an energy-saving light source and a good replacement option for incandescent and halogen lamps has led to broader use within healthcare spaces. However, the lighting source isn’t always understood by the people who specify it, use it, or maintain it, says Karen Murphy, senior professional associate at HDR Inc. (Omaha, Neb.).
In February 2014, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton opened the Margaret and Charles Juravinski Centre for Integrated Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario. The project was impressive for its size alone, with 850,000 square feet and more than 300 psychiatric beds, as the provider brought all of its mental health and addiction services together under one roof in a modern and comfortable setting.
The importance of art in healthcare spaces is an idea that has blossomed in the last decade as more designers and operators recognize the healing benefits of positive distraction, nature views, and daylight within their care environments.
