HCD Guest Author

The answer is yes, and I'm not talking about roads, parking, or shuttle busses. It is amazing how much "transportation" goes on inside a hospital every day. Patients, supplies, and food come in. Trash, dirty laundry, and visitors go out. Biomedical equipment goes from unit to unit. Samples and specimens go in and out of the lab. The pharmacy staff takes medication all over the hospital. The loading dock and ambulance bays are easy to identify, but what happens to the supplies or the patient after they enter the door? You get the idea.

Shortly after the opening of The Design Loft I realized the great amount of assistance that the community needed in the form of donations. I constantly had clients, both new and existing, approach me to ask for help for a variety of causes related to healthcare. After...

As the AIA continues to press Congress about the 2030 Challenge, has your firm taken any steps to meet this demand? 0.00% - Yes (if so, please specify in comments) 83.33% - We will worry about meeting those requirements in the future 16.67% - Our firm already meets...

In our current work on a large hospital addition in Ohio we are extensively applying the principles of prefabrication. This includes the work production of 120 overhead MEP modules in the corridors (making up approximately 60% of the overhead MEP work on a floor); 180 complete patient toilet rooms (minus the fixtures and finishes); 180 14-foot sections of patient room headwalls, unitized precast concrete, and curtainwall exterior wall systems; and a temporary, 350-foot-long “jet bridge” elevated connector.

Whether you are trying to get to the hospital for testing, have a doctor’s appointment at an MOB on campus, or rushing to visit a loved one who was just brought to the ER, wayfinding for the healthcare field starts when you exit your vehicle. Hospitals have paid a lot...

How often do you use to-scale mock-ups in your design process? 39.39% - Always 48.48% - Only when the client requests them 12.12% - We never use mock-ups COMMENTS - I wish we did this more. - This design philosophy is simply the best protocol and method to assure...

We have all heard about the obesity epidemic in the United States, and now it has come around to impact us in healthcare construction. Our clients and the design teams recognize that all patient care spaces and public areas (waiting rooms, toilets, etc.) in healthcare facilities need to be suitable for obese or "bariatric" patients. The first major impact was the introduction of patient lift systems into inpatient rooms and exam rooms.

“Another painful procedure without relief!” Unfortunately, those words are heard all too often as patients go about the painful process of healing in today’s modern hospitals. However, a simple design related intervention can make all of the difference to millions of...

Given the extra initial costs of sustainable building, have you found more clients reluctant to embrace sustainability with the declining economy? Yes - 54.55% No - 27.27% We have seen a few clients avoid the costs - 18.18% COMMENTS - There is market desire but fund...

Nowhere is customer service as important as on a healthcare construction project, and in today’s market this is even more important. We need to ensure that our staff understands that the needs of the hospital, their staff, the patients trying to recover, and worried friends and family, are our top priority. Over my next few posts I will discuss some of my team’s actions that ensure we are providing the best possible customer service.

“Reflections” is a new column featuring thoughts and commentary by former HEALTHCARE DESIGN Editor-in-Chief Richard L. Peck. In her “From the Center” column for this issue (p. 8), Debra Levin, President and CEO of The Center for Health Design, notes the universality...