A few years back at one of HEALTHCARE DESIGN's annual Editorial Advisory Board meetings, a board member (and if I could remember who, I would tell you) suggested that the magazine try to publish some “themed” issues. The idea was that by highlighting a number of...
The practice of the sole practitioner is going by the wayside, perhaps the way house calls once did? More and more, we are seeing the sole practitioner absorbed by group practices, multi-specialty practice groups, or healthcare organizations. The necessity to be in alignment is obvious. EMR is leading to this alignment. Patient-focused interdisciplinary team medicine is leading to this alignment. Models in continuum of care are leading to this alignment.
PHOTO CREDIT: CollinsWoerman Left: The front entrance to Pullman Regional Hospital in the rural community of Pullman, Washington.
As providers begin to understand the impact healthcare reform will have on their business, many hospitals and medical centers are looking to Lean process and design as a way to do more with less. Doug Grove of CollinsWoerman explores this topic in the third and final installment of a three-part online exclusive series.
Set-based design
In 2007, Jean M. Young, ASID, CID, AAHID, wrote "A summary of Color in Healthcare Environments: A Critical Review of the Research Literature” for HEALTHCARE DESIGN. In the article, she reviewed the 2003 research study from what was then the Coalition for Health...
In the February issue of HEALTHCARE DESIGN, Janet Brown’s Green Column, “A fruitful partnership: Where philanthropy and healthcare sustainability intersect,” relates the story of Magee-Womens Hospital, part of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and its efforts to boost education about women’s health and environmental toxicants.
Designing and producing wayfinding in the healthcare environment is a study of the human perception of space and navigation of specific environments. Patients, visitors, and staff all enter healthcare facilities with varying levels of stress, emotion, and tolerance of...
Late last week, I traversed the country in the middle of one of the most horrifying winter storms in recent memory, traveling from our headquarters here in Cleveland to Concord, California, home of our publishing partners atThe Center for Health Design. In a day-long...
In my last post, I discussed the results of a survey asking participants to identify design features that are important to them in healthcare facilities. Surprisingly, lighting received the most responses, with natural light gaining particular attention. As an...
As providers begin to understand the impact healthcare reform will have on their business, many hospitals and medical centers are looking to Lean process and design as a way to do more with less. Doug Grove of CollinsWoerman explores this topic in the second installment of a three-part online exclusive series.
Reinvent the medical planning process
The front entrance to Overlake Hospital and Medical Center in Bellevue, Washington. As providers begin to understand the impact healthcare reform will have on their business, many hospitals and medical centers are looking to Lean process and design as a way to do more with less. Several elements of healthcare reform beg Lean solutions, such as the expected growth in outpatient care and more cost-efficient inpatient care, and, increasingly, designers are employing Lean strategies to create spaces that encourage Lean operations.
In all my reading, research, and discussions on how buildings are executed and how to improve the speed with which buildings are constructed, I cannot find more than two solutions to speed things up: prefabrication and automation.
A better question for those of us building hospitals—do you want to hear me now? There are two issues driving an intensified interest in acoustics right now. One is the desire to make hospitals quieter so they are a more healing environment, and the other is the continued quest to ensure patient privacy (such that everyone on the floor does not hear the specifics of Mrs. B’s knee replacement surgery).
