Insights & Solutions

The built environment plays a critical role on the health and wellbeing of its inhabitants, including: the advent of the evidence-based methodology on disruptive innovation in healthcare design; biophilia as a baseline for the shift to our inordinate amount of sedentary time indoors; how to access color and light, and their misunderstood impact on an occupant’s experience; discussion of issues related to acoustical integrity of our environments; environments that encourage interaction, communication and the healing power of touch; and an assessment of how design impacts “life indoors” through a review of best practices.

This presentation focuses on the change in process that will increase the likelihood of a successful outcome related to implementing evidence-based design. The Stanley Tippett Hospice Home is part of the VNAcare Hospice Network and is located in a historically significant residential neighborhood in Needham, MA. 

In 2014, Dodge Data and Analytics (DD&A) conducted a wide-reaching study of the perception of building impacts on health among design and construction industry professionals in the commercial, institutional and residential sectors, medical professionals, human resources executives and owners. This webinar presents the findings of this study. The presentation incorporates findings from other DD&A studies on the importance of collaboration, which can be a critical factor for preserving both green and healthy building priorities by addressing uncertainties that can have negative impacts on project cost, schedule and quality. 

This presentation outlines the process of linking patient satisfaction to healthcare environments. Sentiment analysis assigns values to the thoughts and feelings of patients and family provided in satisfaction surveys through written word, digital format and voice recordings. This data identified root causes for negative feedback. challenging traditional best practices in healthcare planning and design. 

This course covers the process of implementing an evidence-based art program from start to finish using M.D. Anderson as a case study. It includes the developed goals of the art program, types of art used, and provides results from a post-occupancy evaluation. The course also provides suggestions for improving art programs and identifies other resources to enhance one's understanding of evidence-based art. 

Healthy soundscapes are paramount to the missions of hospitals: patients need to sleep and heal without unnecessary environmental stressors; staff, patients, and family need to communicate accurately but privately; staff need to be able to localize alarms and calls for help. There is growing research evidence of the potentially negative effects of poor soundscapes on hospital occupants. Explore recent findings from the Healthcare Acoustics Research Team (HART), an international collaboration of specialists in architecture, engineering, medicine, nursing, and psychology. 

Enactment of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is transforming just about every aspect of healthcare delivery in order to achieve the Triple Aim goals of better care, healthier people and communities and affordable care. One of the law’s most striking and fundamental changes is the shift in reimbursement practices – moving volume to value. This presentation provides an overview of the design team implications of the ACA, such as the Hospital Consumer Assessment of the Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and the Partnership for Patients program. Learn how architects, designers and facility managers can contribute to solutions that achieve these outcomes.

The waiting room continues to be a major problem area in terms of patient and family experience, as well as organizational efficiency. Healthcare organizations struggle to accommodate high patient volumes and a variety of acuity levels, while patients and families deal with a roller-coaster of emotions, long wait times, and lack of privacy. The majority of research on the topic of waiting room design is based in case studies, which provide little generalizable evidence for further application.