As of 2013, “financial challenges” had been listed as the number one concern of hospital CEOs for 10 consecutive years, according to the American College of Healthcare Executives. Financial stress has been the order of the day for many industries since the Great Recession, but few have also endured the extreme internal and external upheaval faced by healthcare organizations in this current era of reform.
It’s not always easy to pinpoint a beginning, and yet it’s human nature to seek the answer to where things began. Humans are curious creatures: From silly curiosities (which came first, the chicken or the egg?) to cerebral discussions such as the Big Bang Theory, we continue to seek answers to questions of genesis, both big and small.
While we know boomer nation is going to have a huge impact on the healthcare industry and the design of its facilities, there isn’t much research available on the demographic in relation to planning, design, and construction. However, there’s plenty to discover on boomers and aging in general that can be applied to design decisions for the built environment.
A fitting metaphor: In a phased healthcare renovation, the building serves as the patient undergoing a radical surgical procedure. The operation must be meticulously planned, since whatever part of the building is being opened and repaired or replaced is connected to the rest of the building’s systems, all of which must be monitored and kept functioning.
The process is far more complicated than simply gutting a building, because phasing requires precise timing by an entire team of professionals.
Providing a serene, comfortable environment where the terminally ill can spend their final days, hospice is a slowly but steadily growing market sector.
Originally integrated into hospitals, hospice care began breaking out into standalone facilities in the early 1990s. They started out small with just a handful of beds, but once industry pioneers figured out that it would take an average of 7 beds running at an 85 percent occupancy rate to break even, facility size slowly increased.
Collaboration is a great thing, isn’t it? It happens all the time in healthcare projects—often with great success. One of the success stories of the new Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton at the United States Marine Corps’ major West Coast base is the involvement of Young + Co. Inc., a 4-person interior design firm based in San Diego.
Completion date: October 17, 2013
Owner: NAVFAC – Southwest
Architecture: HDR Architecture and HKS Inc.
Interior design: HKS Inc., HDR Architecture, and Young + Co. Inc.
Contracting: Clark/McCarthy, A Joint Venture
CVS Caremark Corp. recently announced that it will discontinue the sale of all tobacco products. President and CEO Larry Merlo said in a press release that CVS is evolving into a healthcare company and that to sell products known to be harmful to a person's health is antithetical to its mission. The company is estimated to lose $2 billion in tobacco sales due to the move, but Merlo has called the loss CVS's contribution to the larger issue of decreasing national healthcare costs.
Many healthcare designers are aware of the Fable Hospital, a business case for a theoretical 300-bed, evidence-based design hospital founded on the experiences of some of The Center for Health Design’s early Pebble Projects.
As baby boomers emerge as the primary users of healthcare facilities, it’s important to consider how they enter and exit buildings during their visits. This process involves assessing the entry sequence and focusing on areas like the building canopy, entry vestibule, and lobby.
While the Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) and the Joint Commission continue to emphasize more extensive systems commissioning for new hospital buildings and major building renovations, it’s also time to consider “clinical operations commissioning” as an effective means of identifying and addressing operational risks before any patients, staff, or visitors walk through the doors of a new facility.
