With a focus on lifesaving services for cancer patients, SightLine Health hired Arch-Interiors Design Group, Inc. to design a space that would ease anxiety and imbue a sense of calm for patients at its Golden State Cancer Centers – San Fernando Valley in Woodland Hills, Calif.
As a young industrial designer graduating from the University of Houston in spring 2012, there were many different paths I could have taken. But even before graduating, I knew I wanted to be involved in the healthcare industry. It may not sound like the obvious choice: there are a high number of constraints to work with, no room for mistakes, the environment is incredibly fast-paced, and the design opportunities may appear boring.
Now that autumn has begun, it's time to finalize the sessions and workshops that you plan to attend at the HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference coming up next month in Phoenix.
News of the recent introduction of the Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act (S.3535) by two members of the U.S.
When evaluating the holistic patient experience, there are three important factors involved: people, process, and place. As planners and designers of the healthcare built environment, we understand that “place” should be an enabler of patient satisfaction.
With the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare industry is set for change. I was recently talking with HGA colleague and healthcare planning principal Hal Henderson about how he views designers’ role in the evolving healthcare environment.
The emergency department (ED) is a healthcare system’s 24/7 front door. Over the last decade, ED visits are up 32%, but capacity is down 7%. Universal care coverage will likely increase demand because of the lack of primary care access.
Healthcare leaders need to focus on meeting the needs of physicians, staff, and patients, and creating EDs that are adaptable for the future.
Like almost all industries, design for healthcare is regulated by federal, state, and local codes. But in addition, there are standards that have been established by many groups, societies, and advocates that influence design.
For example ASHRAE publishes volumes on the design of healthcare facilities. The designer, faced with creating a healthcare facility, must wade his/her way through the thousands of regulations, codes, and standards to come up with a suitable design.
One of the very cool aspects of covering the healthcare industry is writing about the latest design trends and innovations in new hospital construction and renovations. Whether it’s gorgeous healing gardens with water features; beautiful, nature-inspired interiors; or clever wayfinding systems, it’s exciting to learn about the ways in which healthcare designers are improving the patient experience.
But … for better or for worse, these insights did not serve me too well throughout an appendicitis adventure I muddled through earlier this year.
The concept of Kaizen is not new to healthcare; as part of the Lean process derived from the Toyota Production System, the ideas of “continuous improvement” and the elimination of all waste in the manufacturing chain has been applied to U.S. healthcare in many ways, shapes, and forms over the last few years as facilities try to get smarter, faster, and better at healing people.
The fate of the uniquely designed old Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago hangs in the balance. As the debate swirls around whether to demolish this familiar sight which has been a part of the Streeterville area in Chicago since 1975, there is no denying that the hospital was ahead of its time in design.
