Insights & Solutions

Tseung, V., Verweel, L., Harvey, M., Pauley, T., Walker, J. (2022). Hospital outdoor spaces: User experience and implications for design

While outdoor views and spaces can positively impact patient and hospital staff outcomes, research is needed to understand how outdoor design might contribute to patient therapy in post-acute and rehabilitation care. Researchers used a pre-occupancy evaluation to interview patients, family, and staff involved with rehabilitation activities in the outdoor areas of an existing hospital to inform the design of a new facility. Researchers identified three overarching themes: outdoor spaces and views help patients focus on life beyond their illness, specific design elements should be considered when planning outdoor views and spaces, and deliberate design of outdoor spaces can promote rehabilitation. Design elements identified in this single-site study include: year-round visual access to the outdoors, a variety of plants, water, and wildlife; challenging grades that support therapy but do not create barriers for patients with mobility issues; safety stations and clear signage for trails or paths; and separate spaces for patients/families and staff.

Fay, L., Real, K., Haynes, S. (2022). The healthcare workspace: Understanding the role of decentralized nursing stations, corridors, and huddle spaces as locations for teamwork in a neonatal intensive care unit

Decentralization of nurses to corridor alcoves has placed them closer to the patient bedside, but has also resulted in unintended, negative consequences including reduced collaboration and teamwork. Researchers in this single-site study conducted a multi-phased pre-and post-occupancy evaluation of multidisciplinary care in a NICU transitioning from an open-bay to a single-family room layout. They looked for differences in collaboration among caregivers between the two layouts, and evaluated the use of nursing stations, corridors, and huddle stations on the new unit. Generally, survey respondents from a variety of disciplines demonstrated statistically significant improvements in perceptions of job satisfaction, well-being, and design satisfaction in the new unit but they had lower perceptions of teamwork although not statistically significant. Observations indicated that within professions the majority of communication occurred at the decentralized nursing stations, but when more than two professions were communicating, the huddle stations were most frequently used.

Lim, L., Kanfer, R., Stroebel, R. J., Zimring, C. M. (2020). Backstage staff communication: The effects of different levels of visual exposure to patients

Good communication and teamwork among healthcare staff is essential to quality healthcare. “Backstage areas” – or the areas away from patients – can provide privacy for staff discuss patient information, build relationships, and provide training. Conversations often include sensitive information about patients’ health, as well as specific patient needs or circumstances (for instance, letting each other know about a patient who is upset, or a patient who is hard-of-hearing). While there is a great deal of research around visibility in the workplace and team interaction, not many of these studies have focused on the healthcare workplace, and even fewer have looked at visual privacy from patients. The results of this study show that staff have a strong preference for the option of visually private backstage areas, but that more open areas can also support comfortable communication – especially when the design provides clear delineation to support adequate visual privacy from patients.

Keys, Y., Stichler, J. F. (2018). Safety and Security Concerns of Nurses Working in the Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study

Safety and security are top priorities for healthcare organizations, and are especially important in areas where patients are at their most vulnerable, such as the intensive care unit (ICU). ICU nurses and providers have intense responsibilities when caring for complex patients and a safe and secure environment of care is necessary. There is very little research on how design of the ICU environment affects nurse perceptions of safety – safety for themselves and for other patients. In addition, the research that does exist is largely based on an assumption that ICUs are safe and secure places. The current study begins to test this assumption, and results suggest the following recommendations for ICU design: smaller unit sizes, the need for improved visibility, the ability to access alternate exits, including security controls for emergencies or threats, and providing adequate staffing.

Jiang, S., Allison, D., Duchowski, A. T. (2022). Hospital greenspaces and the impacts on wayfinding and spatial experience: An explorative experiment through immersive virtual environment (IVE) techniques

Healthcare facilities are notoriously complex spaces, and wayfinding is a common challenge. There is evidence from previous studies that certain design interventions can improve wayfinding, such as environmental cues and clear signage. But people from different backgrounds interpret signage differently, and so we need to think about other ways design can support navigation. Results from this 2022 study by Jiang and colleagues show that visual access to the exterior natural environment seems to help support recognition, orientation, and mood – all of which can set visitors up for better wayfinding, and ultimately – for a better healthcare experience.

Machry, H., Matić, Z., Oh, Y., DuBose, J. R., Morgan, J. S., Love, K. L., Jacob, J. T., Zimring, C. M. (2022). Healthcare design to improve safe doffing of personal protective equipment for care of patients with COVID-19

In the early days of the pandemic, infection prevention protocols were focused on the possibility of contact transmission, including intensive efforts to provide and keep personal protective equipment (PPE) clean. Now, more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a clear understanding that the main mode of transmission happens via airborne droplets and particles. But contact transmission is still possible, and healthcare leadership must consider how to address contact transmission possibilities from all types of infectious disease. This study gives us good reason to consider standardization, with room for flexibility, in order to support efficient and safe behavior.

Healthy Environments Medella with M-ForceTM Ultra Technology is a homogenous resilient sheet option, installed with welded seams, creating a wall-to-wall impermeable flooring solution that provides superior infection control and moisture resistance for healing spaces.

Following the completion of a comprehensive campus master plan, SmithGroup was engaged to plan and implement a transformative healthcare facility for this 360-bed community hospital, associated with Emory University and the School of Medicine. The new hospital facilities are designed to create a fresh image for the campus, improve internal and external circulation, and provide inpatient and outpatient facilities that support a more efficient and patient-focused care model. The scope included full design deliverables, construction schedules, facility condition assessments, cost estimates and value engineering, low voltage design, medical equipment planning, and IO&T.

The program will then focus on addressing the apparent conflicts by identifying some of the alleged conflicts.  Each conflict will then be discussed in detail looking at current code requirements, changes in more recent editions of the applicable codes, and looking at equivalencies or alternative methods that could be considered.  As with other design considerations, involvement of all the stakeholders will be illustrated as a key factor in achieving an acceptable level of life safety while meeting the needs of the patients and clinical staff in a behavioral health environment.  

Children’s Health Dallas teamed up with Philips and Recornect to create and pilot new ED exam rooms to improve the experience of receiving mental health care in the Emergency Department. By integrating a specialized interactive touchscreen with ambient room technology and therapeutic content, ED exam rooms are transformed into ultra-tunable environments that can help improve care delivery. Patients can rapidly de-escalate, begin therapy faster, and connect with staff in new ways. This webinar will tell the story of their design process, patient outcomes and valuable lessons learned.