HCD Guest Author

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

After some months of waiting, anticipating, and hand wrangling, President Obama's Healthcare Reform Bill was finally passed into law earlier this year, leading all corners of the healthcare industry to finally exhale and get on with the business of making America well...

Nine miles on foot; constant alertness, concentration, and preparedness for the unexpected; endurance and determination to fight fatigue; and ability to handle demanding terrain and any emergency that might arise. These could be the challenges facing a competitive...