January 25, 2018

The Scoop

Shaping the Future

Today, to kick-off our 25th Anniversary celebration, we are offering a webinar with the 2017 Changemaker Award winner, Dr. Mardelle Shepley, free of charge.

Dr. Shepley will explore the intersection of art and science, and illustrate that each, in their finest expressions, are one and the same. She will investigate the nature of the human mind, how no single approach can provide all the answers to complex problems, and finally how one cannot be a socially responsible designer or scientist without using both intuition and research. Join us today and learn how to evaluate yourself on the spectrum of artistic orientation versus scientific orientation. If you'd like to attend, just click here to learn more and register.  If you can't make today's webinar, it will be available within one week on demand. Click here to see any of our 85 on demand webinars.

A lot has changed over the last 25 years, but the need to provide healthcare environments that are safe, accessible and patient-centric has not. We must continue to create healthcare environments that contribute to health outcomes and the health of our communities. And to be successful, we must share our learnings, create new tools and provide the very best resources that contribute to the quality of life of the patients, families and staff who are in the healthcare facilites we build.

As we continue to celebrate our 25th Anniversary this year, watch for announcements of upcoming opportunities to be a part of The Center's future, along with the many planned celebration activities.   

Be well,

Debra Levin, EDAC
President and CEO

Industry News Briefs

Indoor Environments Can Have Profound Impact On Staff

Improved indoor environmental quality doubled participants' scores on cognitive function tests, according to a new study by researchers at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Center for Health and the Global Environment, SUNY Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University. Primary support for the study came from United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) and its UTC Climate, Controls & Security business.

"The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function" study found that employees' cognitive performance scores averaged 101 percent higher in green building environments with enhanced ventilation compared to a conventional building environment.
United Technologies, The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function,  more. . . 

Excessive noise can be distracting in any work environment. You might expect that to be an issue on a construction site or at an airport, but not in the OR.

A recent story published online by OR Today serves as a reminder that it can get loud in the OR, too, adding another degree of difficult to already-challenging tasks.

“Noise is a distraction that interrupts patient care and potentially increases the risk for error,” Mary J. Ogg, MSN, RN, CNOR, senior perioperative practice specialist with the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), told OR Today. “It may minimize the ability of OR team members to communicate effectively, making it difficult to understand content and contributing to miscommunication.”

And that not only puts patients in peril, but potentially your employees, too. HCPro, more . . .

Designing a Sense of Community within a Senior Living Community

We often use the word “community” to describe the actual physical space in which senior residents live and engage. We sometimes forget that the true goal of a senior living community is to establish a sense of community.

Interior design can be used to help develop this sense of community, one that goes far beyond just the physical space. Design impacts the way humans interact with the space and those around them, so the goal of designers in the senior living industry should be to not only create an attractive living space, but one that supports residents in living a fulfilling life.

How do we create designs that foster a sense of community? 
EFA, more . . .

A Fresh Approach

In 2014, leaders at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., noticed that many of its patients and families were commuting long distances from neighboring New Jersey. Adding to that burden, several of these patients required frequent follow-up visits with specialists and/or physical therapy. Upon further inspection, it was determined that although southern New Jersey was in the tertiary catchment area of other national competitors, it was underserved locally. So, Nemours decided to answer that need by developing its first large-scale, freestanding multispecialty outpatient center in a new market.

The goal was to create a facility that would attract families from across southern New Jersey with a depth of services, including specialty care clinics; ambulatory surgery; infusion; diagnostic imaging; and physical, occupational, speech, and aquatic therapy. Healthcare Design, more . . .

Finding the Right Art for Your Healthcare Project

The Center for Health Design recently presented the webinar “How to Commission Art in Your Healthcare Environment.” Speaker Stefanie O’Keefe, RFP specialist at CODAworx, an online global network that connects design projects and commissioned artwork, says art can have many positive effects on patients, and that it’s important for project teams to begin discussing their art needs as soon as possible to help save money on the art and installation budget and to ensure the works are fully integrated into the new space.

To help project teams in these tasks, including finding the right artist, commissioning new art, and planning for art projects, O’Keefe shared these tips:

Identify the project vision: The first step is to identify your project and determine where you want to display art. Start by considering your space needs and restrictions: Can the art be touched? Will it be in a public space?  Healthcare Design, more . . .