Industry News Briefs
Building Smarter Healthcare through Better Interior Design
Healthcare interior design projects pose unique challenges for design teams. Many of the finishes chosen for a new, expanded or renovated healthcare facility are more than just passive elements that create a “look and feel” of a facility. They contribute to the core mission of the facility: Delivery of care to patients
It’s not that these spaces cannot be appealing. Examples abound of healthcare facilities striking in their beauty. The idea, though, is that healthcare interior designers must first prioritize design elements that promote patient care
Healthcare Facilities Today, more. . .
Sound Advice
In a complex healthcare project, there are specialists for almost every aspect of the built environment, from art consultants to landscape architects. One environmental aspect that’s a critical part to both patient safety and health outcomes is the soundscape, or the sounds heard in a particular location. Too much noise in a setting can affect a patient’s ability to get restorative sleep and can muddle communication between caregivers. But, if the environment is too quiet, there can be an eerie and unpleasant sense of dread felt while in the space.
When I attended Healthcare Design’s HCD Forum in Park City, Utah, last September, the impact of sound and environment was brought to life in a presentation by Man Made Music, a sound design company.
Healthcare Design, more...
Students Challenged to Redesign Retail Space for Health Care Use
Vacant retail spaces dotting cities across the U.S. has created a unique opportunity for the health care field as many systems look to take advantage of these existing and primely located spaces. Answering just how hospitals can transform these spaces and optimize their use, however, is an art that’s still being perfected. It’s also the challenge that was presented to a group of college students at the International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction (PDC Summit) that recently wrapped up in Phoenix.
Health Facilities Management, more...
How Are Transforming a Healthcare Facility and Buying a Car Similar?
Healthcare leaders are responsible for creating and maintaining a comfortable, safe environment for patients, visitors and staff. In this pursuit they are often challenged by deferred maintenance, lack of funding and dated technology. Achieving their desired goals are not out of reach, but it does require planning and research beforehand – much like buying a car.
For most of us, when it’s time for a new set of wheels, we have a goal in mind for what type of car we want, whether it’s fast, safe, fuel efficient or a combination of everything. After the initial research is complete and you have the end goal in mind, you head over to a dealership to test drive different models and make the final decision. The last step is a trip to the financing office where you figure out how you’ll pay for the car.
Healthcare Facilities Today, more...
Healthcare Design For Introverts And Extroverts: Outpatient Facilities
Private spaces energize introverts and social spaces energize extroverts. If the population is divided equally between introverts and extroverts, then what are we doing in healthcare to address the needs of both populations?
Probably the most dignified and efficient process I've ever encountered in an outpatient surgery setting included an exit interview in a private consultation room. After recovery from a procedure, I was dressed and ready to go. The doctor, my husband, and I were shown to the post-op consultation room. I was coherent and my husband was there to hear directly from the doctor the recap of how the surgery went and what to expect in the future. This is the level of dialogue both extroverts and introverts crave. That was well done.
Healthcare Design, more...
Seventh Annual Internationally Acclaimed CODAawards Celebrate Commissioned Art Projects
The internationally acclaimed CODAawards, now in their seventh year, celebrate the design projects that most successfully integrate commissioned art into interior, architectural, or public spaces. The awards, selected from projects around the world, honor the individuals and the teams whose collective imaginations create the public and private spaces that inspire us every day. Submit projects for consideration by May 31, 2019.
CODAworx, more...
|