Insights & Solutions

Clean Matters: Assessing and Maintaining Environmental Cleanliness in Healthcare Settings

November 2015 ∘ Issue Brief ∘
As part of the cleanliness toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about how to identify the significant impact of environmental cleanliness on multiple healthcare outcomes, different methods used to measure cleanliness, and a summary of key strategies to improve cleanliness through environmental design, operational and policy changes, and education of personnel.

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Project Brief

MedStar Washington Hospital Center's ER One Incorporates Cleanliness Best Practices

January 2016 ∘ Project Brief ∘
Learn about: a streamlined design with easy-to-move furnishings and standardized cleaning products that help Environmental Services staff be more efficient and effective, smart furniture selection that can help reduce cleaning time, and the connection between a clean environment and patient satisfaction.

Blog

Coming Clean on the Link Between Perception of Cleanliness and Patient Satisfaction

January 2016 ∘ Blog ∘
The healthcare community has recently come clean on an important fact: patient perception of your hospital’s cleanliness may impact their overall view of your facility much more than you’d think. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey provides patients an important avenue through which to share their views of your hospital’s cleaning practices. Many patients will also use their impression of your physical environment’s look and cleanliness to judge the quality of care they receive.

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Interview

Strategic Design Can Improve Patient Perception of Cleanliness and Quality, an interview with Jaynelle F. Stichler, DNS, RN, EDAC, NEA-BC, FACHE, FAAN

January 2016 ∘ Interview ∘

Learn about: what patients really judge when evaluating a facility’s cleanliness, why patient perceptions of cleanliness directly impact reimbursements, and ways hospitals can improve patients’ views of cleanliness, quality, and safety.

Slidecast

Isolation or Interaction: Healthcare Provider Experience of Design Change

April 2020 ∘ Slidecast ∘
Van Heuvelen, J.S. (2019). Isolation or Interaction: Healthcare Provider Experience of Design Change. Sociology of Health & Illness, 41(4), 692-708. While the role of the built environment is often overlooked in sociology, van Heuvelen examined the role of the environment as a mediator of organizational culture. This ethnographic study draws on sociology and an "inhabited institutionalist" theoretical framework to assess the staff experience of adjusting to the move from an open-bay to a single family room NICU. Findings show moving to the new SFR unit resulted in less time for discussion and personal support, resulting in a higher reliance on individual assessment skills. This was felt to undermine the culture of collaboration, but in other instances, the prior collaborative culture was transposed.

Webinar

Behavioral Health Behind Closed Doors

December 2018 ∘ Webinar ∘
This webinar explores how MedStar Health is using fast-track design to help catalyze a new model of behavioral health, using the reduction of barriers, small house concepts and interior design strategies to create positive environments where patients are positively impacted.

Interview

The Design of a Psychiatric Clinic in Borås Sweden Strives to Create a "Healing" Environment, an interview with Stefan Lundin and Cristiana Caira

February 2018 ∘ Interview ∘
Learn about how the design of a new psychiatric facility strives to normalize mental illness through carefully chosen materials with the goal of creating a “homey,” non-institutional setting, why private patient rooms will be included in the new final building as an important part of the design concept, and how research helped shape the architects’ beliefs that the built environment should support patients’ dignity and independence as part of the recovery process.

Issue Brief

Design for Behavioral and Mental Health: More Than Just Safety

February 2018 ∘ Issue Brief ∘
As part of the Behavioral & Mental Health toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about the prevalence of behavioral and mental health conditions as comorbidities; design strategies for promoting psychological wellness; and a systematic benefit analysis approach to meet the psychological needs of all.

EBD Journal Club

Does Space Matter? An Exploratory Study for a Child–Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit

August 2017 ∘ EBD Journal Club ∘

Trzpuc, S. J., Wendt, K. A., Heitzman, S. C., Skemp, S., Thomas, D., & Dahl, R. (2016). Does space matter? An exploratory study for a child–adolescent mental health inpatient unit. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 10(1), 23-44.

Tool

Ambulatory Care Center Design Tool

December 2015 ∘ Tool ∘
This Ambulatory Care Center Design Tool (ACCDT), developed by Dr. Anjali Joseph and Dr. Zahra Zamani from Clemson University in collaboration with The Center for Health Design (CHD), builds upon a series of papers, best practice case studies and in-depth literature reviews conducted by CHD as well as CHD's Clinic Design Post-Occupancy Evaluation Toolkit – Tool 2 Audit of Physical Environment with additions from a thesis by Crews (2013). The tool supports design teams in making key design decisions about ambulatory care centers linked to evidence based design goals and principles.