Ergonomics in Healthcare Facility Design, Part 1: Patient Care Areas
2011
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 41
Pages 49-51
Author(s): Stichler, J. F., Feiler, J. L.
Added December 2015
An Evaluation of Operating Room Safety and Efficiency: Pilot Utilization of a Structured Focus Group Format and Three-Dimensional Video Mock-Up To Inform Design Decision Making
2011
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 5
Pages 6-22
Author(s): Watkins, N., Kobelja, M., Peavey, E., Thomas, S., Lyon, J.
While surgical and interventional procedures are the most profitable services within the hospital, the cost of building and maintaining an OR can quickly reduce the profitability of running an OR. Due to this precarious balance of revenue and cost, the planning and design of an OR should look to reduce injury to staff and prevent unnecessary costs, while increasing operational efficiencies.
Added September 2014
Same-Handed and Mirrored Unit Configurations: Is There a Difference in Patient and Nurse Outcomes?
2011
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 41
Pages 273-279
Author(s): Watkins, N., Kennedy, M., Ducharme, M., Padula, C.
Awareness of the impact of healthcare facility design on a number of diverse patient and staff outcomes is growing. From patient recovery time, satisfaction, and comfort to nursing staff efficiency, error rates, and distraction, varied outcomes are being linked to environmental conditions and design attributes in hospital settings. Inpatient unit configurations, specifically same-handed configurations vs. mirrored units, are a particular area of interest for researchers, with implications for practitioners and patient care. Same-handed configurations, which standardize all rooms within a unit such that they are all identical, may allow for reduced noise as headwalls are no longer shared.
Added February 2014
Work environment factors other than staffing associated with nurses’ ratings of patient care quality
2011
Healthcare Management Review
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 38
Pages 105-114
Author(s): Djukic, M., Kovner, C. T., Brewer, C.S., Fatehi, F.K., Cline, D.D.
There have been many studies on the impact of registered nurse (RN) staffing on patient care quality, but this study set out to identify other modifiable work environment factors linked to patient care quality. This information could be significant given that the projected shortage of approximately 250,000 RNs over the next 15 years will limit healthcare institutions’ ability to rely on RN staffing alone to ensure high-quality care.
Added January 2014
