February 22, 2018

The Scoop

Choreographing the Future

As we continue celebrating our 25th Anniversary, we have been busy in a variety of meetings at The Center - creating and developing programs and plans that will ensure The Center is your go-to healthcare design resource for industry research, education and tools, not just this year, but for the next 25 years to come. It is always an engaging exercise to strategically create and produce new events, toolboxes and educational opportunities as there are a lot of "moving parts" to each, but one thing remains a constant and an absolute - how important our members, partners and sponsors are to everything we do. From online learning events, tools and resources, to in-person workshops, conferences and networking events, our supportive community is what makes, quite literally, a world of difference. Our Affiliate membership program provides opportunities for individuals and organizations of every size - from students and single design practitioners, to the 1000-bed acute care hospital, to the global healthcare product manufacturer - to advance their understanding of evidence-based design strategies and benefits, and to demonstrate their support of The Center's values and mission. And, our industry partners and sponsors are vital to helping us fulfill our mission of transforming healthcare environments through evidence-based design research, education and advocacy. 

We want to provide you with ways to partake in our 25th Anniversary celebration. This month, we are offering 50 industry expert recorded interviews that feature top leaders providing their insight to the many challenges facing our industry, free for all to watch. Here's one with Shannon Kraus, FAIA, FACHA, MBA, NCARB, LEED AP, Senior Vice President, Managing Director for HKS, talking about the importance of Connecting to the Community.  To watch more of these recorded interviews, go to the Insights and Solutions section of our website and select interviews in the "Open Access" tab.

You can also be a part of our celebration by donating to The Center for Health Design. Donations will help us achieve our research, education, and advocacy goals that will unleash design's healing power in the U.S. and abroad and help us to reach our financial goal of ensuring a strong future for decades yet to come. Click here to make a contribution to The Center and make a difference in the future of healthcare.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support. We are looking forward to the next 25 years of adventures together!

Be well,

Debra Levin, EDAC
President and CEO

Industry News Briefs

Healthcare Facility Infrastructure: The First Step in Patient Safety

Patient safety and satisfaction relies on more than just internal operations and care, it spans all the way to the infrastructure of the healthcare facility itself. Having an intelligent infrastructure in place can help create healthier, better outcomes for patients and their families, especially when it comes to an emergency event such as a fire or natural disaster.

Preparing for expected and unexpected threats in advance is the best way to ensure damages are as minimal as possible. Healthcare facilities can prepare by integrating smart technologies into existing infrastructure to improve the safety of all occupants. Healthcare Facilities today,  more. . . 

While funding, utilization rates and strategies for growth vary across the heath industry, a growing cohort of healthcare clients in the Middle East, Asia and India are benchmarking with leading healthcare institutions in North America, Western Europe and Australia. Clients with facilities in these areas historically had a narrow focus to address “the big three” of shortages: beds, skilled clinical staff and medical technologies.

Today the confluence of a progressively competitive marketplace and globalization is resulting in an increasing number of discerning patients and providers seeking value from health systems in these international geographies. The industry is experiencing a shift as global clients with facilities in these nations are instructing healthcare designers to place equal emphasis on patient experience, clinical care, quality, safety and revenue capture.  Medical Construction & Design, more . . .

Healthcare Initiative Focuses on Humanity-Centered Design

In 2007, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement launched the Triple Aim initiative to tie specific actions for change to improved outcomes in healthcare environments. The result was a set of design concepts that supported a team-based approach to care and focused on improving the patient experience, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare. A decade later, the Quadruple Aim was introduced, factoring the caregiver into the equation. It sought to restore a sense of joy and purpose to the work of being a caregiver, especially in an environment that’s traumatic at times.

Now there’s a new approach on the horizon that works to improve experience on a much larger scale: humanity-centered design. Over the last year, this concept has surfaced in the technology world as a way to counteract the deep focus on the individual that social media promotes, which can lead to feelings of isolation and inadequacy. Now, humanity-centered design is finding its way into the healthcare design lexicon as a way to encourage specific behaviors and outcomes, focusing on the needs of multiples rather than individuals and advancing human well-being. Think of it as simply being kind to people. Healthcare Design, more . . .

Members from The Center's Research Team to Present at PDC Summit 2018

If you’ve ever pulled the “push” handle of a door, you’ve experienced how building design can influence your actions. The healthcare facility design process is complex and requires juggling many different types of information to make informed and balanced decisions. How can safety become a focus that goes beyond meeting requirements for fire protection and life safety?

Join The Center for Health Design's Ellen Taylor PhD, AIA, MBA, EDAC, Vice President for Research, and Alan Card, PhD, MPH, Research Associate, as they walk through examples, tutorials, tips, and tricks to help you get the most out of your SRA project.

"Safety First! Proactive Design and the Online CHD Safety Risk Assessment Toolkit V2.0" is part of the preconference program on Sunday, March 25, 2018, from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
More information here.