From the December 2014 Edition of Healthcare Design Magazine
A Note from the Editor, Kristin D. Zeit
If there’s an overriding theme to the design work we’ve encountered in the U.S. this year [2014], it’s this: “Get your own house in order.”
What that comes down to is an operations- and patient centered approach to streamlining the way care is delivered. For the design or redesign of spaces where care happens, that’s meant more Lean thinking, more input from clinicians and facilities staff on process, and, overall, a laser beam focus on efficiency of space and smart, cost effective planning.
Much of this work is informed by evidence-based design, and certain principles- such as access to daylight and nature, single patient rooms, as well as sustainable and energy-efficient building practices- have by no means been lost along the way. And I don’t mean to suggest that there haven’t been some truly stunning projects, both aesthetically and in terms of pushing the envelope through innovation and forward-thinking design…
Examining the Possibilities
VISTAMATIC Installed in Highlighted, Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee
1. This new department features an inner core layout that aligns all the patient rooms around a centralized staff area. The staff enters the exam room from the inner core and families and patients enter from a perimeter corridor.
2. The 32,000-square-foot ED, designed by BRG3S Architects (Memphis, TN) houses five triage rooms located off the main waiting area. The triage rooms open into the nurses’ work area on the back side.
3. With the previous ED setup, only two ambulances could park under a covered entryway, while additional vehicles had to park on the street. In the new ED, an underground emergency vehicle plaza was designated for unloading and parking up to 18 vehicles. Curtains conceal two mass decontamination shower areas that can be used in the case of a chemical spill or other disaster.
4. A new corridor connects the ED entry to the main hospital and provides additional seating for overflow.
