HCD Guest Author

Some insightful observations by physicians are making me rethink some current facility planning assumptions.

There’s been a great deal of discussion recently about integrated care and issues related to providing treatment for both medical and psychiatric illnesses in one location, by one team.

Over the years, people have repeatedly shared with me that the one issue of Healthcare Design  they keep on their shelves from year to year, and refer back to on a regular basis, is the annual Healthcare Design Showcase issue (published in September).

Project category: New construction & Remodel/renovation

Chief administrator: Cathy Kopy, executive director, Todd Cancer Institute

Firm: c|a Architects, www.c-aarchitects.com

In a 2013 market review, New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) of North Carolina identified the need for a new 29,000-square-foot, 10-examination room emergency facility in northern New Hanover County, N.C. The region is undergoing rapid growth and is popular among young families and seniors. Moreover, the market fluxes dramatically thanks to a thriving tourist industry, especially in the summer months.

Generation gaps are nothing new. The term itself was popularized in the 1960s, as the huge baby boom generation began to influence all aspects of American society. Now another huge generation—the Millennials (those born after 1980)—is moving into adulthood and impacting everything from popular culture to technology to social institutions.

We’re only beginning to see their impact on the healthcare system and facility design.

Over the past several years, healthcare reform and economic conditions have caused many healthcare institutions to delay or reduce already-limited capital spending on architectural projects, focusing instead on operational or technological change within existing buildings.

This has translated to necessary projects becoming long overdue. As providers begin to correct the situation, architects and designers are positioned to play a key role in the process, particularly in helping to create new or renovated spaces that are more operationally efficient.

When Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) in Los Angeles set out to build a new Comprehensive Transplant Center (CTC) in fall 2012, the goal was to consolidate three transplant programs from multiple locations into one three-story building.

When embarking on a new outpatient clinic project, the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation (UWMF) zeroed in on design goals of supporting Lean and efficient operations as well as staff collaboration and enhanced patient privacy. The solution was to create an integrated care team (ICT) space as close as possible to the areas where care is delivered. A plan was developed that separated back-of-house ICT space from front-of-house patient amenity areas and circulation.

Our firm recently received a design RFP from a healthcare client who asked an interesting question: “Do you consider your firm a design studio or a business adviser?”  I found this to be thought provoking, the suggestion that a design firm could only be successful at one or the other, but likely not both.

I believe it points to a common myth that design firms are focused primarily on facility aesthetics and to a lesser degree on the actual business of care delivery.