How often does your day get so busy that it is done before you completed everything on your list? I imagine it is rare for any of us to feel "caught up" as there is always more to do. We at The Center know first-hand how busy life can be. And we've made it our mission to create tools and resources that are of value to you and accessible anytime, allowing you to be more productive with your time. To that end, we hope you will take advantage of our latest offerings and tools including:

Our latest resources and tools provide you with knowledge that's actionable, knowledge you can quickly incorporate into your projects, along with the latest industry news to see what others are doing.

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Lowly lobbies and stark, noisy waiting rooms are history. As healthcare organizations work to improve the patient experience, these spaces are evolving into destinations for education, engagement, and solace.

It’s a necessary evolution driven by a competitive market that offers more choice to patients in where they receive care and is influencing healthcare systems to view patients as customers as well as users of services. “The important element in everyone’s mind is creating a patient and a family experience that’s memorable and helps set a healthcare organization apart,” says Jocelyn Stroupe, director of healthcare interiors at CannonDesign (Chicago). Healthcare Design, more . . .

Maintenance and engineering managers in institutional and commercial facilities know that healthier buildings help occupants feel and work better. Now, maybe the general public will start to take note of facility conditions.

A new Harvard study has found that the key to working better, sleeping better, and feeling better could be rooted in the design, maintenance, and operation of the buildings where we spend the majority of our time.

The national study was conducted by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Center for Health and the Global Environment and SUNY Upstate Medical. It is the first to show that working in high-performing, green-certified buildings can improve employee decision-making using objective cognitive simulations. facilitiesnet, more ...

The architects and construction companies who make their living designing and building healthcare facilities are bullish in their outlook on healthcare construction, despite the uncertainty surrounding healthcare policy in Washington, D.C.

When asked to forecast their business prospects, half of these construction leaders predicted “slow but steady growth,” while another third foresaw a “strong” book of business ahead.

Only one out of 123 architects, contractors and design/build companies that participated in Modern Healthcare's 38th Annual Construction & Design Survey reported a “declining” outlook, with that lone pessimist noting the “political climate is discouraging to healthcare construction.” Modern Healthcare, more . .

Light plays an important role in human health and productivity, and there is no environment where these two factors are more dynamically connected than healthcare facilities. Hospitals are finding that upgrading to a modern LED lighting system can have a significant positive impact on almost every level of hospital function. Although LED lighting usually gets attention as a money-saving, energy-saving strategy—it can reduce lighting energy costs up to 70%—it can also bring measurable improvements to a facility’s performance in terms of patient recovery times, patient experience, medical staff performance, and staff job satisfaction. LED lighting may also contribute to reductions in accidents and errors; an increased sense of security for visitors and staff; and even better cleaning by maintenance staff. Those advantages can, in turn, yield financial benefits that go far beyond the cost of energy.
Building Design + Construction, more...

When it comes to traditional healthcare, patients are conditioned to a general routine for medical appointments. After checking in and flipping through a magazine in the waiting room, the consultation is followed by time-consuming, non-medical related processes that range from navigating insurance issues to scheduling additional appointments and filling prescriptions.

With the increasing trend of clinics transitioning to a patient-centric model of care, this setup is no longer the norm, due in part to an emerging space called the central care team area. The concept of this clinical hub is to co-locate information, services and resources into one location and provide a highly efficient model of care by using the space in a manner that generates revenue, improves productivity and patient satisfaction.

To successfully support a clinic’s transition to a new model of care, the central care team space design is a key factor to maximize efficient use of the clinic space. This space is an open area strategically located at the center of the clinic module where all staff is co-located. This includes physicians, medical assistants, nursing staff and tertiary care members such as social workers and dieticians. Medical Construction & Design, more . . .