For decades, the term “medical tourism” conjured two distinctly different images: the affluent traveling to tropical destinations for nip/tucks or other elective surgeries and, in some parts of the world, individuals crossing borders to find care that wasn’t available close to home. While these markets still exist, the medical tourism industry of today is largely composed of patients traveling to receive tertiary care in specialties such as cardiovascular, orthopedics, weight loss, and more.
Located in Westerville, Ohio, Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital recently underwent renovations to bring new and expanded services to the facility while updating the environment to reflect the local culture.
More than 1 million Americans are expected to travel outside the U.S. for medical care in 2014, according to Patients Beyond Borders, a resource and publisher on medical tourism. Globally, approximately 11 million patients go abroad for medical treatment.
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.
More healthcare owners and operators, as well as design professionals, are employing energy- and water-saving features, specifying healthy building materials, and making smarter design decisions.
As the importance of waiting rooms pushes design to new levels with better layouts and various social experiences, healthcare facilities are also placing greater emphasis on aesthetics to up the ante.
Christine Guzzo Vickery, vice president and senior interior healthcare designer HGA Architects and Engineers (Minneapolis), says one of the key elements she emphasizes to clients is good lighting.
The patient experience is taking on a whole new level of importance for providers, as the industry shifts to a value-based service model, where outcomes and satisfaction drive reimbursements.
“Most hospitals have been focused on the back-of-house operations, where everything was about volume and efficiency,” says Michael Lied, director of healthcare, principal, GBBN Architects (Cincinnati). “Now the value is shifting to the front of the house and the customer service aspect.”
As a community hospital in Greensboro, Ga., St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital faces the challenges of remaining relevant and profitable in today’s changing healthcare marketplace, while serving the surrounding community.
The hospital’s 65-year-old facility, which was the first facility built through the Hill-Burton Act, placed constraints on its growth and success.
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.
Alicia Wachtel is vice president and regional healthcare practice leader for the Los Angeles office of HOK. Here, she shares her thoughts on retail clinics, medical office buildings, and urban healthcare planning.
1. Follow the money
Since I started covering healthcare design more than a year ago, I’ve become much more observant during any doctor's appointment or hospital visit. Basically, the concerned family member in me is asking questions about medications and growth charts while the editor in me is trying to uncover all the details that designers and architects have put into a facility.
What type of flooring did they choose? How does the layout of this waiting/family/patient/exam room add or detract from my experience? Is there access to natural light?
Facilities are engaging designers and architects to create waiting spaces that make patients and visitors feel comfortable, appreciated, and valued for their time.
James J. Peters VA Medical Center (Bronx, N.Y.), the oldest VA facility in New York City, needed to upgrade its electrical distribution system to maintain its accreditation and remain open. The project included replacing up to 400 circuit breaker panels and installing five back-up generators, and required the electricity to be turned off for different parts of the hospital for long periods of time.
