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Insights & Solutions

    Blog
    April 2016 Blog

    With technology serving up even more state-of-the art advances in patient care than ever before, many hospitals are incorporating these IT improvements into their operations to create a virtual feast of high-quality offerings.

    Take the Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa, California, which just opened its doors in October of 2014. The organization spent $284 million to construct a brand new, high-tech facility that incorporates the latest and greatest IT tools and capacities and uses them to achieve the highest-quality standards of care and treatment.

    Blog
    April 2016 Blog

    As the Children’s Hospital at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Colorado has recently discovered, being a technologically advanced facility doesn’t mean you have to take a high-tech approach to your design elements. In fact, just the opposite is true at this pediatric hospital, where the most important goal is creating a nurturing environment that can help young patients to heal so they can go home faster.

    Blog
    April 2016 Blog

    How do you incorporate the latest technological advances into your design efforts? If you’re like most healthcare organizations today, the newest electronic tools and offerings are probably taking center stage in your modernization plans, helping to lead the way toward achieving better outcomes.

    Blog
    January 2016 Blog

    Your Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores reflect your patients’ views of the cleanliness of your facility. Yet their visual perceptions might not match the reality of your environment.

    Blog
    April 2015 Blog

    Antibiotic-resistant infections have become a major public health issue in the United States. In other countries, however, the problem doesn’t appear as severe or as widespread. It’s worth taking a look at what they’re doing differently to see what we can learn from their efforts.

    Blog
    April 2015 Blog

    In today’s demanding healthcare marketplace, your design choices need to do double duty. They need to reflect your mission to prevent the transmission of germs in your facility while also incorporating a patient-centered care approach to help people feel at home in your units.

    But this raises a serious question: Can safety and comfort co-exist? The answer is a resounding “yes.” Many modern facilities are finding creative ways to integrate both missions seamlessly so patients and staff reap the full benefits.

    Blog
    April 2015 Blog

    Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) and other easily transmittable diseases are a serious concern in most facilities today. Implementing some of the latest best practices in your physical environment can help to minimize their impact—and help you get the best outcomes from your efforts.

    When exploring design options that can help to prevent HAI and keep other infectious diseases from spreading, here are three key factors to consider:

    Blog
    November 2014 Blog

    In the ongoing battle to reduce noise in hospital patient units, much attention has been paid to the floor and the ceiling. Over the years, several case studies have shown that sound-absorbing ceiling tile and carpet can help significantly reduce excess noise on a unit. But what about the walls?

    Blog
    October 2014 Blog

    The issue of excessive noise in healthcare facilities is indeed complicated. Patients need a calm, peaceful environment in which to heal, and loud noises certainly are at odds with that concept. While architectural and design choices can be made to lower the general noise level -- high-performance sound-absorbing materials in floors, ceilings, and walls are examples -- perhaps the most important and effective step a healthcare organization can take is to create a “culture of quiet” among its staff on all levels.

    Blog
    October 2014 Blog

    For many years, carpet was considered a no-no for use in most hospital settings beyond waiting areas. The most oft-cited reason was cleanability, as well as a perceived added difficulty for caregivers pushing carts and other wheeled equipment.

    However, with the growing awareness of the noise issue in hospitals—including the potential financial repercussions, based on the HCAHPS system and the reimbursements tied to it—carpet is getting a second look in some facilities looking to decrease overall noise levels.