HCD Guest Author

What do The Cheesecake Factory and the University of Pennsylvania Health System have in common? It was a question Earl Marsh pondered after reading “Big Med,” an article by physician-author Atul Gawande that was published in the New Yorker and considered whether hospitals should be more like chain restaurants.

Futuristic no longer, robotic technology has made serious inroads in healthcare delivery. Adoption of robotics ranging from automated delivery systems serving pharmacy and supplies to robotic surgery systems has nearly doubled over the past two years, David Gillespie, SSOE Group architect and associate told an audience at the HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference in Phoenix.

Among the many events that took place to kick off the 2012 HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference in Phoenix, Ariz., it was with great anticipation that I joined the facility tour of Adelante Healthcare Community Center in Mesa, Ariz. What began as a magnet clinic for migrants in 1979 has now blossomed into a 501(c) nonprofit federally qualified health center with seven sites serving approximately 30, 000 patients.

Ambulance drivers knew the entrance to the emergency department at Banner Baywood Medical Center (BBMC) in Mesa, Arizona, but most other people didn’t. So a major goal for its addition, which was completed two years ago, was a new entrance to improve access to the ED.

The good news is that an increasing percentage of your employees plan to stay put in 2013. According to a recently released Deloitte survey, 80% of employees do not plan to change jobs over the next year, representing a significant increase from 2011, when only 65% were planning an exit.

The bad news, however, is that an alarming number of the 20% who plan to leave are either high-performing or high-potential employees.

The words “smart hospital” seem to be making an appearance a lot more often. What exactly does the phrase mean? Is it defined by the type of medical equipment available in the hospital, or is it the technology integrated into the structure to enhance its function and performance? At the moment, it seems the phrase is broad enough to encompass most scenarios that involve some sort of technology.

Improving Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey scores is a top priority among healthcare administrators to ensure funding. 

Even though modest growth is projected for the healthcare construction market in 2013, developing and offering non-traditional supplemental services is recommended as a viable business strategy for healthcare design firms. 

From commissioning and energy monitoring to indoor air quality consulting and parking planning services, firms may have more expertise to offer than they realize. 

Ask yourself the following questions: What would happen to patients and staff if your hospital’s electricity went out for an hour, a day or a week? What would you do if an infectious and deadly disease started affecting the patients and staff in the hospital at an alarming rate? What would be your response to rising flood waters around your hospital?   

In case you haven't heard, the World Health Organization has named October 10, 2012, as World Mental Health Day. The day promotes open discussion of mental disorders, as well as prevention, promotion, and treatment services. This year's theme is “Depression: A Global Crisis.”