Anne DiNardo

“This is an exciting time for healthcare,” said Sarah Dash, research fellow, Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute, as she kicked off the first Healthcare Design Academy event of the year in Washington, D.C.

Ambulance bays connect EMS personnel and their patients to the triage area of a hospital and should be fast, safe, and efficient at getting everyone in, and out. Yet not all bays are created equal, and oftentimes they become a dumping ground for excess supplies and waste, or a holding area for backboards waiting to be cleaned before they can be used to transport patients again.

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.

With a background as a sociologist and design strategist, Lance Carlson leads the strategies practice at Taylor (Irvine, Calif.), a full-service architectural, interiors, and strategies firm. Here, he shares his thoughts on service design, brand positioning, and the merging of healthcare with other market sectors.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center completed an 80,000-square-foot multispecialty clinic in Green Township, Ohio, in 2013. The building houses nine clinics and 17 services and is designed to bring area children a comfortable and positive healthcare environment that’s close to home.

Stanford Children’s Health (Palo Alto, Calif.) is a growing community physician and sub-specialty group, developed in partnership with owner Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and the Stanford School of Medicine. 

Ambulance bays are the front door for many at a hospital. However, the design and operation of these essential spaces can be less than ideal for patients, staff, and EMS personnel alike.

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.

Healthcare designers, architects, facility owners, and contractors and used to lengthy schedules and spending large amounts of time on a project that won’t see its first patients until 2016, 2018, or beyond.

One deadline that might seem far off—but in reality is just 16 months away—is June 2015, the final date for the industry to transfer to using the new LEED v4 rating system.

In a study conducted by Nurture in fall 2013, 35 percent of clinicians and nurses reported being injured at least once on the job—the bulk of those injuries coming from patient transfers. Nearly half of the 303 survey recipients said they were responsible for performing patient transfers more than once a week.

Mitch Goplen, EDAC
Vice president of facility services, Billings Clinic (Billings, Mont.)

Plenty has been done within healthcare organizations across the country to reduce the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Measures such as readily accessible hand-washing sinks have been put in place, and facilities are tracking staff compliance, too. But human processes have limits, says Dr. Gene Burke, vice president and executive medical director, clinical effectiveness, Sentara Healthcare (Norfolk, Va.).

Sheila Bosch, PhD, LEED AP, EDAC
Director of research for Gresham, Smith and Partners (GS&P; Tampa)