For more than 45 years, Joseph G. Sprague, FAIA, FACHA, FHFI, has promoted design excellence within the healthcare industry for a multitude of project types. As a director of health facilities, principal, and senior vice president at HKS Inc., Sprague serves as technical adviser on numerous projects. He oversees project execution, while providing substantive input in the areas of functional and space planning, master planning, and facility design.
When we design a building, especially one that involves health, we design it to respect and reflect the spirit of its place and the people who inhabit it. We believe that the environment can contribute to healing when people have a sense of comfort and familiarity when they walk in the door.
Earlier this year, as our team of judges gathered in Chicago to weigh the merits of dozens of project submissions for Healthcare Design’s annual Architectural and Interior Design Showcase, I clearly recall when the discussion picked up a bit in tempo, when I realized the industry pros in the room had stumbled upon something that really impressed them.
The owner of Palomar Medical Center (PMC)—a 10-years-in-the-making, new-build project that cost just under $1 billion—has never been shy about its ambitions. When Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health (PH) realized that the state’s seismic upgrade requirements would have been cost-prohibitive to implement in the old PMC building, CEO Michael Covert took the opportunity to build not only a new facility, but a new organization.
The damage inflicted by Hurricane Sandy was far reaching, flooding homes and businesses across the East Coast and forcing people and even hospitals to evacuate. Now that the flood waters have subsided and the healing from Hurricane Sandy has begun, what are the next steps that need to be taken to resuscitate a hospital impacted by the storm?
There isn’t a book that provides step-by-step directions, but there are organizations that can help hospitals through the process of rebuilding and preventing future flooding risk to their facility.
Positive distractions are a set of environmental features or conditions that effectively reduce patient and staff stress by providing a moderate level of pleasant environmental stimulation. It’s well known that gardens, artwork, videos with nature scenery, window views of nature, and music can serve as positive distractions in various healthcare settings, benefitting patients and families as well as healthcare workers.
The old adage that hindsight is 20/20 is often tinged with feelings of regret. In our last article, “Research in Practice: Lesson 3—Testing Innovation Through Simulations and Mock-ups,” we shared the importance of simulation techniques for visioning how designs will perform.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Michael Kimmelman, the architecture critic from The New York Times. Kimmelman reached out to us because the idea of connecting architecture to health outcomes had been rolling around in his head for a while, so he started to visit a few newly built healthcare facilities and talk to key people involved in the projects. Eventually, his explorations led him to The Center for Health Design.
As part of its ongoing expansion and effort to continue to create outdoor environments that promote healing, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville, Md., took one of its open spaces—a rooftop—and transformed it into the Barbara Truland Butz Healing Garden.
And right from preliminary planning meetings with the hospital, Oasis Design Group (Baltimore) found the project took on a life of its own.
As the integrated project delivery (IPD) team behind the new Lawrence + Memorial (L+M) Hospital cancer center, in affiliation with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, progresses in Waterford, Conn., collaborative Lean planning that took place months ago has already proven its worth.
The new Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center campus in Yonkers, N.Y., co-locates the services and programs for the treatment and long-term care of medically fragile children while providing outreach programs to the community. Designed by Perkins Eastman and achieving LEED Silver certification, the 165,000-square-foot, 138-bed pediatric facility has an overarching goal of providing a homelike and stimulating experience for its residents.
With all sorts of uncertainties constantly revolving around the healthcare sphere—be it economics, healthcare reform, or changing models of reimbursement and care—how can healthcare providers optimally plan for the unknown?
As a starting point, experts advise providers to focus on known factors in order to develop a viable strategy moving forward.
