VIP rooms with concierge services, are these going to stay, grow or go away? With the universal healthcare debate in full swing one has to wonder if VIP rooms are dead. Or, could they possibly grow into a new business model of a cafeteria style private pay method?...
HCD Guest Author
HCD Guest Author's Latest Posts
ASID: Lean 101 – How Lean Relates to Healthcare Design
I've been hearing the word "Lean" a lot lately. So what exactly is Lean and how does it relate to us as designers? As a young designer, I wanted to explore the bare-boned basics of how the whole Lean concept can be applied to design in basic form. Lean in regards to...
Project Watch (PDF opens in a new window)
The imperative for Evidence Based research
In my last posting, I talked about the need for designers to conduct research. As trained professionals, we bring diverse tools and resources to every project. Part of our expertise is to bring Evidence Based research with benchmarked data to help clients make the...
ASID: How will Virtual House Calls impact future healthcare facility expansions?
In case you haven’t noticed over the past 18 months, people are being very cautious about spending money, and that includes healthcare systems. You probably have observed that large and small hospitals’ long-held expansion plans are being laid aside for less...
ASID: Building up and patient well-being
Expansion is expensive. There is really no way around the costs associated with building a larger and improved healthcare facility. It often comes down to the following choices: build up, build out, or move. Healthcare facilities in high-density metropolitan areas...
Design Lessons Learned from Inpatient Experience
Designers who have been confined to a hospital bed identify with the concerns of the end user. These concerns are addressed in “Designing for Patient Empowerment: A look at the inpatient room from the patient’s perspective,” available at...
The art of med caps
As hospitals and clinics continue to implement expansive art programs in their facilities, it only follows that eventually, they'll include patient-generated artwork in these exhibits as a way to build a community and give the patients a greater sense of place and...
Innovative design solutions: Second floor emergency department?
When the 23-story Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago opens in June 2012, it will demonstrate a unique approach to hospital high-rise design. The urban site presented a particular challenge for the design team with a fairly small building...
Full-service lifecare
Project Summary
Client: Laguna Honda Hospital Architects: Anshen + Allen; Stantec Architecture
Associate Architect, Interior Design: Fougeron Architecture
Interior Design: Kai-Yee Woo and Associates
Associate Architects: Powell & Partners Architects; Tsang Architecture
Associate Architect and Planner: Aviva Litman Cleper Architects
MEP Engineer: Arup & Partners California
Construction Manager At-Risk: Turner Construction
Photography: ©2010 David Wakely
Key Considerations in Patient Room Design: 2010 Update
Photo: JMI/HOK The last four years have continued the hospital building boom in inpatient towers, with thousands of new patient rooms coming on-line. Only the past year's economic slump has slowed the wave of construction. With Hill Burton-era hospitals continuing to...
Building a business case for going green
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed in March will undoubtedly affect every healthcare organization in the country. What it will not change is the fact that positive patient outcomes are still the real bottom line and the ultimate mission of caregivers, administrators, and hospital staff.











