Many healthcare organizations are in the position of upgrading, expanding, or replacing their emergency departments. There are several trends in ED design (such as segregating lower-acuity-level patients into fast track areas), but few have been quantified.
The healthcare world is specialized and kinetic. Today’s discerning patient travels the nation seeking the top doctor or hospital in a particular field—whether it is oncology, diabetes, pediatrics, neurology, or cardiology—all with the intent of getting the best possible outcome.
The November 2011 issue of HEALTHCARE DESIGN marks the 10th anniversary of the magazine’s first publication. The growth of the title—starting as a once-yearly publication and eventually growing to a whole media brand that encompasses a monthly publication, a major conference, website, and more—has been remarkable, especially in an era when the print medium has been rapidly eclipsed by electronic forms.
Nurture by Steelcase, The Center for Health Design, and HEALTHCARE DESIGN magazine are pleased to announce the winner of the 2011 Nurture Collegiate Healthcare Design Competition. Students were challenged with the theme of “waiting” and were asked to create a conceptual design that would provide opportunities for improvement in the environment and/or processes within.
In July, the first phase of a new full-service healthcare campus (the first hospital built from the ground up in 25 years in King County, Washington) opened its doors to the public. The campus was designed with two key challenges in mind: to create an architectural design that aligned with patient and community needs and to create medical buildings that significantly cut energy usage across the new campus.
In 2002, Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia, thought it had solved all of its emergency department (ED) problems by doubling its size to 50 beds and 26,000 state-of-the-art square feet. It had seen 75,000 patients that year, with a 6% walkout rate. A year later, patient volume had climbed to 83,000, but all beds were in constant use and the walkout rate had climbed to 14%, including 3,000 walkouts over a four-month period.
One of the key things that one realizes in training is that we very often treat whole family units. When you are treating persons who have elements of frailty, their loved ones become all the more critical to their care and to plans that help move patients toward better health. Thus supporting families/loved ones to feel at place in the clinical environments helps develop better plans that have more chance of successful implementation with our patients,” according to Dr. Anthony J.
Another successful HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference wrapped up in Nashville last week.
Designing and detailing the next generation of patient rooms to decrease falls and hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) is extremely significant for our healthcare systems. Since Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals are continuing to decrease, it is more important than ever for the healthcare industry to address unreimbursed “never events.”
Assignment: Plan a patient tower for children’s services. It must have seamless access to many of the main hospital’s medical and support services. Design it within a tight footprint on the medical center’s property. Work within budget restrictions. Develop a new vision and identity focused on the Southwest Florida community. Actively involve more than 100 stakeholders—clinicians, physicians, parents, community representatives, and hospital system leadership—in the process.
With 68% of U.S. adults either overweight or obese (and 48% of the pediatric population), hospitals and medical facilities are subsequently faced with the challenge of adjusting their buildings to accommodate the growing segment.
Debra Harris, PhD, CEO, RAD Consultants, discussed the trend at the HEALTHCARE DESIGN.11 conference in Nashville during the session “The Bariatric Patient—How Will New Guidelines Impact Health Facility Design?”
With 68% of U.S. adults either overweight or obese (and 48% of the pediatric population), hospitals and medical facilities are subsequently faced with the challenge of adjusting their buildings to accommodate the growing segment.
Debra Harris, PhD, CEO, RAD Consultants, discussed the trend at the HEALTHCARE DESIGN.11 conference in Nashville during the session “The Bariatric Patient—How Will New Guidelines Impact Health Facility Design?”
