EARL SWENSSON ASSOCIATES, INC
Your firms role on the project: Architect and interior designer
Project Mission and Vision/About the Project
Evidence-based design and safety priorities in the patient rooms were a key focus. With the hospital's focus on safety, the primary outcome desired by the client was the reduction of preventable episodes, such as patient falls, post-procedural infections, staff lifting and other occupational injuries, and reduced length of stay for patients. To reduce the opportunities for falls, the facility includes grab bars and rails from the patient bed headwall to the outboard toilet. Smooth transitions exist between the doorway from the patient room to the bathroom. Advanced ventilation systems protect air quality.
State-of-the-art information systems guard against errors in medication administation and other treatments. Rooms are laid out around a central core with a centralized nurses' station proximate to the patient rooms, and substations are close to the bedside for constant connectivity. Lift systems are built into the patient rooms to assist in patient transfers.
A research study based upon outcomes related to design is being conducted by the client in coordination with Earl Swensson Associates. The specific outcomes being examined for the participating nurses are: steps taken, kcals burned, job satisfaction, patient falls, and open-ended questions for participants to comment on aspects of their physical environment that help them do their jobs/make their jobs more difficult.