Jersey Shore's $235 million expansion includes a new bed pavilion, diagnostic and treatment building, renovations to clinical and outpatient areas, a new parking garage, and other infrastructure improvements. In the new five-story bed tower, patient care units are organized in the "neighborhoods" of 12 private rooms. Among other things, Jersey Shore plans to measure the impact of this layout on walking distances for nurses.
Additionally, because departments such as ED and Cardiology are completely relocating from an existing facility to the new pavilion, it provides an excellent opportunity for baseline research to measure the effectiveness of the new building design. WHR Architects is the architectural firm.
Jersey Shore is also studying the impact of carpeting and acoustical tiles on noise levels and patient and staff perceptions.
Publications
- Wurmser, T., Bliss-Holtz, J., Becker, F., & Collins, K. (2009). Meridian Health and Cornell University team up to study Jersey Shore University Medical Center’s Transforming Care project. Healthcare Design, 9(6), 20–23. “(The study) will allow comparison of both process and outcome data between the two environments to determine the impact of the new environment. Results of this study will provide insight into the role that evidence-based design may play in healthcare communication processes and related patient and nurse outcomes.”
- Cheng, P. (2008). The Pebble Collaborative: An acoustic conversation. Healthcare Design, 8(8), 12–12,14 “A discussion on acoustics raised issues and challenges around sound control in healthcare environments including balancing acoustics with infection control, the need to determine an appropriate benchmark for sound levels, equipment and material choices, and privacy and work performance issues.”