Insights & Solutions

Learn about: how a practical consideration of all the elements of the new hybrid OR helped guide design choices, the role Human Factors played in optimizing the new space, how process mapping and cognitive walkthroughs furthered the design team’s understanding of the OR’s people and processes, and how buy-in from key stakeholders led to the success of this project and laid the groundwork for future efforts.

Learn about: how a variety of approaches—including research, observation, and process mapping exercises—were used in conjunction to develop the new design plans, why the architectural team relied on existing staff, patients, and families to understand which needs to address in the redesign, and how envisioning the new center as a “house” could better support the needs of patients and families.

Learn about: methods to minimize patient wait times and maximize use of hospital space, guiding principles implemented in a Seattle children’s hospital to improve patient and provider communication, and how architects, healthcare providers, and families can collaborate to design a patient-centered emergency department.

Learn about: evidence-based design solutions to address throughput challenges in today’s overcrowded emergency departments, the importance of aligning research design with organizational operations and processes for successful research, and the advantages of basing research methods on previous studies. 

Learn about: unique ways that a pediatric replacement hospital leverages its small urban footprint to meet the high demand for ED services, why locating the emergency department on the second floor was the most efficient way to use limited space, and how a three-pod design enables the ED to flex at different times of day for varying levels of demand.