× You are not currently logged in. To receive all the benefits our site has to offer, we encourage you to log in now.

Population Health Clinic Evaluation Tool - (PDF Version)

March 2017
Tool

Overview

Built environment strategies can help healthcare organizations and communities promote healthy living, reduce obesity, and prevent chronic disease. Given the increasing focus on community health and preventive medicine, it is important that healthcare organizations and the communities they serve incorporate built environment strategies that result in healthy behavior.

With support from the Kresge Foundation, The Center for Health Design has developed a standardized Community Health Center Facility Evaluation tool that supports design for population health. The tool is intended to support both design and post-occupancy evaluation of built projects with respect to population health goals. 

The Tool

The PDF version of the toolkit is available at no charge through a Creative Commons license with restrictions. Click on the purple box above to download a copy.

The tool is based on a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) toolkit developed by CHD, as well as input from a comprehensive literature review, case studies of pioneering facilities, and experts in the industry. It is organized around four main goals of population health:

  1. Healthy Behaviors,
  2. Physical Environment,
  3. Social-Economic Factors,
  4. Clinical Care

An optional category of additional design considerations to improve quality and safety of care is included as well.

The tool is organized around five main spatial components of a typical outpatient health center, including:

  1. Building – Exterior
  2. Interior – Overall
  3. Waiting – Check-in
  4. Patient Clinician Interactions
  5. Staff Spaces

 

Process Guide

The process guide helps users by providing:

  • an overview of the background, the conceptual framework, and the structure of the toolkit;
  • a recommended process for using the toolkit

Every facility or building project is unique and the appropriate process for conducting evaluation may vary significantly among facilities and building projects. Therefore, the recommendations included in this guide are intended to be general directions, not prescriptive instructions. 
 

Case Studies

The Center's research team conducted case studies at three community health centers across the United States and to pilot test the tool. These organizations were selected based on their experimentation with outpatient facility design solutions and measuring their effectiveness on achieving the Quadruple Aim of improving patient experience, improving quality and safety, reducing costs, and retaining physicians and key providers at risk of burnout. Multiple methods were used in this case study, including an environmental audit, surveys, and focus groups, to identify successful design and planning strategies commonly adopted in these models of care. Additionally, the team gathered information on emerging design innovations only implemented in a small number of facilities around the country. The three case study sites are:

  1. Adelante Healthcare, Mesa, AZ
  2. Clinica Family Health Peoples Medical Clinic, Boulder, CO
  3. Kaiser Permanente Antelope Valley Medical Offices, Lancaster, CA 

 
© Copyright 2017, The Center for Health Design. All rights reserved. The Excel version of this tool may only be used with an active Affiliate+ membership with The Center for Health Design. This tool may not be used by, transferred to or copied to any other party. The copyright legend may not be removed from the tool or accompanying materials. The user may not make derivative work, remixes, transform, or build upon or distribute the tool or accompanying materials. The authorized PDF version, accompanied by The Creative Commons license page, is licensed under the Creative Commons attribution-non commercial no derivatives 4.0 international license. To view a copy of this license, visit http://Creativecommons.Org/Licenses/By-Nc-Nd/4.0/.  

 

Toolbox Topics