As the design world continues to pursue the wellbeing of humans more carefully, a valuable exercise for workplace design practitioners must be to follow the design of healthcare spaces; the two are more closely connected than they appear.
This month, our healthcare theme has taken us to new topics – the impact of B Corporations on public wellbeing, having a deeper understanding of flexibility in designing for wellbeing, and some fantastic projects in healthcare design by Perkins & Will.
In our final healthcare-themed October issue, we interview Carolyn BaRoss, Healthcare Interior Design Principal at Perkins & Will, via email, regarding what she sees as healthcare design’s greatest challenges, strengths and notable trends today.
officeinsight: What are the primary issues your healthcare clients are currently challenged with when it comes to their facilities? In new builds and existing.
Carolyn BaRoss: One that stands out is that there’s a priority to bring care to patients in convenient, and often multispecialty facilities, for example, orthopedics, oncology, or a wider range of services. Healthcare providers are adapting buildings originally built for office and retail in dense urban, suburban and rural settings. The challenge in converting the facilities is the need to incorporate technical and structural requirements into these buildings (for imaging, outpatient surgery, etc.), into spaces that can be limited in dimension or infrastructure.
The floorplates may not be ideal for outpatient services so one has to be creative in designing them to incorporate best practices for delivering care while creating wonderful spaces. It’s important to budget for the infrastructure costs for these retrofits, so that other features of the build-outs are not compromised. However, the challenges that clients are facing in retrofitting non-healthcare spaces also present some of the more imaginative opportunities to build impactful facilities that revitalize vacant facilities and can invigorate communities and provide convenient access to care.
OI: What are some of the most exciting things you’re seeing happen in healthcare settings, ranging from outpatient to acute care, and any other type of healthcare space?
CB: The most exciting shift to me is the meaningful difference that health design experts can contribute to positively support all people who use care facilities; patients, families, and especially caregivers. The market is moving towards a convergence of specialties and disciplines that leverage the space to support caregiver communication, workflow, and collaboration in the clinical as well as workplace setting…a growing awareness of caregiver wellbeing, physician burnout and what we can do as designers to help mitigate workplace stressors and help enable effective workflow, patient safety and wellbeing for all. And, evidence-based research incorporating empirical research for how we can incorporate building features and technologies (ergonomics, lighting, acoustics, technology, daylight, nature, material and operational health) to be most supportive.
There’s some recent conversation about health design that positions good design superficially as style or fashion for the financially lucky, but essential components of good design are truly budget neutral, and in fact have demonstrated value beyond the cost per square foot of a product.
OI: What types of challenges and opportunities is technology presenting in healthcare design?
CB: Technology related to documentation is adding time and effort to the caregivers’ daily demands. It’s a paradox in that the electronic medical record (EMR) is meant to streamline and simplify the flow of information, yet clinicians must focus to accurately record a patient’s information, adding time to their already highly-scheduled days. Seamless and immediate access to technology for entering these records, for increasingly connected systems of care within a system and with other providers, is necessary in the location and type of technology workstation. Designers are tasked with truly understanding the unique needs of their workflow and providing solutions that provide convenient and ergonomically appropriate settings to focus and engage with the record or other caregivers, and also conduct research.
Technology is also enabling care to be delivered remotely – at home or in satellite locations through technology.
OI: Do you have any insight on the pace of innovation in healthcare environments? Regarding design, technology, change management, etc.
CB: People are much more in control over their choices. Facilities are responding with experiential solutions that are welcoming and comfortable, and with alternate access points for care, such as telemedicine or remote monitoring. As the population ages, I’m certain designers will be redefining what it means to live well for as long as possible and redefine the places where people will age and receive care, at home or in a facility, so that they thrive. We’ll need to solve this so that it’s affordable.
Change management is important in helping a care team understand how to best utilize a new facility, and the design team can be best positioned to communicate these messages. People then move in and clearly understand how best to use the newly-designed space.
OI: Any shoutouts to the firm’s recently completed healthcare projects?
CB: The recently completed Gardner Neuroscience Institute is a beautiful design that was the result of a collaboration with clinical leadership, architects, designers and a neuroscientist. The office building renovation for NYU Langone ambulatory facility at East 41st Street is exceptional. And we are very excited to see the new Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital (https://web.musc.edu/about/news-center/2016/08/12/architects-work-to-ensure-hospital-will-be-a-landmark), which is opening this fall, and incorporates everything from resilient design to evidence-based design, is deeply connected to its place through ongoing collaboration with caregivers, community engagement in the design evolution, and through its theming and art.”