Testing Center Gets Funding
It was announced last week that the state of South Carolina has funded the development of a Center of Economic Excellence in Health Facilities Design and Testing. The project is a collaboration among Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the University of South Carolina (USC), with Spartanburg Regional Health System (SRHS), and Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC).
The purpose of the testing center is to conduct design-research projects using experts from a variety of disciplines — from architecture and psychology to materials sciences and computer science at Clemson, along with clinical researchers at MUSC and indoor environmental health researchers at USC.
The project is the brainchild of David J. Allison, a Clemson architecture professor and director of the project, who is also a member of The Center for Health Design’s Research Advisory Council.
He envisions the testing center and its labs as a destination for researchers and designers from across the country — and internationally — who will collaborate with researchers in the state and use the facilities for design-research projects, much the way astronomers visit observatories to conduct their research. The labs will provide a platform for collaborative educational, research and public-service initiatives that will help advance the state of-the-art in healthcare design.
The idea is for researchers to design, fabricate and evaluate prototype patient care and treatment settings. Feedback from simulation testing of prototypes in the laboratory will be used to revise initial designs. Revised prototypes then will be evaluated in working clinical settings within HSSC member hospitals in the state. Final prototypes and design concepts will be incorporated into new facilities built throughout South Carolina and across the country.
This is exciting news for Clemson and its program and will provide a valuable resource for our industry.
Read more about the project.