Insights & Solutions

Learn about: how the aging of the population contributes to overcrowding in EDs today, why some hospitals are creating ED areas specifically for seniors, with enhanced lighting, non-slip flooring, and other safety features, the need for Clinical Decision Units to provide a place for emergency patients who require a longer stay in order to free up space in the ED, and the challenges that behavioral health and chemical dependency patients pose to EDs, and how best to address these issues.

As part of the ED throughput toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about ED metrics related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, innovative strategies to reduce crowding, minimize wait times, and maximize care quality in the Emergency Department, and how the design of the built environment in the Emergency Department can best support strategies for improved throughput.

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.

Learn about: how a medical home model enables providers representing different disciplines to work together to support the multi-faceted needs of Alaska Native and American Indian residents, which design features help foster a mutually respectful environment for customers and clinical staff, and why the healthcare system decided to create a fitness center on site as part of its commitment to protecting the health of the people it serves.

Learn about: Why every healthcare delivery system should reflect the needs of its community, how reorganizing care teams can improve patient satisfaction without demanding additional resources, and proactive population health modeling tools that enable real-time responses to health trends.

Learn about: Patient-centered medical home (PCMH) principles, implementation, and evaluation, operational strategies supporting the principles of PCMH, and environmental design features of PCMH found in recent design and research publications.

As part of the patient-centered medical home toolbox, in this issue brief you will learn about patient-centered medical home (PCMH) principles, implementation, and evaluation, operational strategies supporting the principles of PCMH, and environmental design features of PCMH found in recent design and research publications.