Insights & Solutions

This webinar will explore the impact the pandemic has had on outpatient behavioral health care. Presenters will share insights and lessons learned from care providers, discuss systemic changes to reimbursement and operations, evaluate what changes will remain in the future, and explore essential design considerations for behavioral health outpatient care that we need to embrace as we transition into the “new normal” of the post-pandemic world.

Dialogue #3: The healthcare industry and the built environment that supports it has seen unprecedented change and evolution of innovative care practices, solutions, and settings. As we find ourselves entering the Summer and looking back on what has occurred and what we have learned, it is clear that “return to normal” will not be the new normal. It is predicted that moving forward, healthcare delivery will occur everywhere and in new and alternative settings and that where we live, work and conduct our lives will continue to morph and meld.

​This webinar explores the challenges of durable coated fabrics in today’s acute healthcare settings. A current nationwide poll of credentialed healthcare interior designers has confirmed widespread failure of durable coated fabric upholsteries, a costly overlook of product warranties, and negative effect of these failures on our HCAHPS scores.

In part 2 of the interview with Diana Spellman, President of Spellman Brady & Company, the conversation moves to the firm’s design philosophy and how materials and surfaces play a key role in creating S&B’s signature, purposeful and deeply meaningful environments.

Diana Spellman is the  President of Spellman Brady & Company, an award winning interior planning firm specializing in timeless, meaningful environments in healthcare, senior living and higher education.

Wagner, J.A., Greeley, D.G., Gormley, T.C. (2019). Health Environments Research & Design Journal. DOI: 10.1177/1937586719854218

Hamilton, D. K. (2019). Horseshoe, Cockpit, and Dragonfly: Nurse Movement in Headwall Patient Rooms. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 42(1), 47–52.  

There are numerous studies on how layout at the unit level affects nurse workflow, but we have very little published information about how nurses work within the patient room. This study by Hamilton examines how ICU headwall patient room design affects the working patterns of critical care nurses. Findings include several consistent patterns of movement, highlighted in the catchy title of the article, and one equipment pattern. The results show a need for balance between consistent fixed locations for some items and portability of other items so that nurses may customize their own workspace.

Emergency Departments (EDs) frequently receive patients with behavioral issues that require them to be identified and potentially isolated as quickly as possible. Often, they need to be placed in specially-designed safe rooms or areas that are optimized for security. Understanding this, Emory wanted to create a safe space in their ED for behavioral health patients.

The Syracuse VA Medical Center needed to renovate its 6th Floor B wing (Ward 6B) space for use as a new medical/surgical inpatient ward. The new ward was to have 20 bed units with 16 private patient rooms and private baths, two double patient rooms and baths, and all the necessary appurtenances for an inpatient surgical care area. Sliding doors were a primary opening/entry feature for easy and efficient access.

Unicel provided Vision Control sliding doors for Mount Sinai's renovation and upgrade of inpatient units, including intensive care spaces for cardiac patients. This included plans for 14 private rooms and a mandate to enhance both patient environments and provide more accessible and efficient nursing care. A key architectural element was to add sliding doors, because they operate easily and automatically. However, they also move incessantly, especially in ICUs where critical patients require constant care from nursing stations. Because of this, it was essential for these doors to maintain desired positioning at all times, without causing additional noise that could hinder patient recovery.