Insights & Solutions

Jenny Hastings, Principal at Boulder Associates Architects answers the question, “How has the pandemic affected Lean Management Practices in your firm?” Jenny begins, “We have projects that are speeding up, some that are slowing down.

The challenges created by today’s growing mental health and substance abuse crises, especially in light of the recent pandemic, reach far beyond the behavioral health unit into emergency departments, outpatient clinics and throughout acute and ambulatory care settings.

To support improved care and enhance staff safety, today’s design, facility and care professionals have to advance their understanding of the environment’s impact on behavioral health care and learn how to incorporate the best and latest design solutions throughout all healthcare setting.

In this workshop, expert faculty will share current physical, mental and societal challenges posed when individuals age, discuss programming and design interventions that can assist people (and their care givers) with those challenges, and present case studies and examples that integrate architecture, design and technology into healthy, safe living environments. 

Albala, L., Bober, T., Hale, G., Warfield, B., Collins, M. L., Merritt, Z., Steimetz, E., Nadler, S., Lev, Y., & Hanifin, J. (2019). Effect on nurse and patient experience: Overnight use of blue-depleted illumination. BMJ Open Quality, 8(3), e000692.

Working at night shouldn't mean being kept in the dark. While blue-wavelength light is bad for patient sleep, no light is bad for everyone.

Devlin, A. S., Anderson, A., Hession-Kunz, S., Kelly, M., Noble, L., & Zou, A. (2020). Magnitude matters: Art image size and waiting time impact perceived quality of care. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 13(3), 140–153.

This study shows evidence that when it comes to art, size matters. Larger art that covers at least 60% of the visible wall space appears to make the exam room more pleasant, perhaps improving the overall perception of care.

In this podcast, Alana M. Carter responds to the question, "how have you and your team responded to the pandemic and what’s happening now within your firm?” She shares, “It’s interesting as leaders.

Peditto, K., Shepley, M., Sachs, N., Mendle, J., & Burrow, A. (2020). Inadequacy and impact of facility design for adolescents and young adults with cancer. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 69, in press.

Designing in features that improve a sense of social support for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer has the potential to improve health related quality of life for these young people..

In this podcast, Joshua talks about Work Well---a new project, and new technology coming out of Leo A. Daly and their industry partners, to help fight COVID-19. Joshua shares, “Work Well started out as a 2 x 4 foot stick-built wood approach to scanning people as they come onboard. People pass through an entry door and the exit door, and there is a green and red light. If you get a green light, you can continue walking through and if you get a red light, you are going to stop. The light system is tied to a temperature scanning system.” Learn more about the genesis of Work Well, its privacy implications and how the healthcare industry is getting involved.

During the first months of the pandemic, what other facilities, aside from hospitals, were used as surge spaces? Joshua begins, “The US Army of Corps Engineers designated 17 alternate care facilities for surge capacity, and one of those was the Javits Center in New York City. If and when they are demolished, we are going to have a lot of extra product; $700 million dollars worth, and some of that is going to end up in the bin and that is a massive amount of waste.” Get an insider’s perspective into what else was going on behind the scenes during the first several months of the pandemic, and what new innovations are coming out of Leo A Daly’s firm.

Learn about the origins and expanding use of telemedicine for virtual care; the role of the built environment in facilitating care via telemedicine; and how evidence was used to support and develop language for guidance (requirements and recommendations).