Healthcare Design - October 2022 - 31

BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER AND LARA SWIMMER
visitors up to the third floor, which houses
one of two public connection points to the
rest of the children's hospital campus. This is
achieved first through the atrium's impressive
height in addition to materials including felt
wall panels with a custom tree bark-like pattern
and interior windows. " You can see the
life of the hospital up above, " says Thorsen.
Serving as a gateway to the River zone, the
third floor is designed as an active hub with a
light-filled waiting area, flexible event space,
redesigned coffee shop, and various seating
nooks. The other public connection point to
the rest of the campus is available on the seventh
floor, which connects users to the Ocean
zone, where outpatient services are housed.
To clarify these different connections for patients
and families, the project team created
the idea of a Discovery Trail, which brings the
hospital's four zones together into one comprehensive
wayfinding system. " The name
alludes to the Pacific Northwest trails that inspire
and connect us to the natural habitats
after which the hospital zones are named, "
says Thorsen. A graphic Discovery Trail map,
featured at all main entry points, shows the
connections between the four zones and helps patients and their families
identify the easiest route to their destination.
PROGRAMMING ELEMENTS
The overall approach to the planning of the building's floor stacking was
determined by the surgery floors, which are spread across two full floors
on levels five and six. " [These two floors] have the largest floor footprints,
making them ideal for the universal surgery suites, " says Thorsen. Sterile
processing is located on the fourth floor along with labs, including histology
and pathology, to support close collaboration with surgeons and
direct access to the ORs as quickly as possible if needed. Level 8 houses
inpatient beds.
The CBDC is located on floors three and seven and features univerA
Discovery Trail map,
featured in the main lobby
(shown) and at main
entry points on campus,
supports the facility's
comprehensive wayfinding
system and shows the
connection between the
different zones.
sal rooms-a new model of care introduced with the project to create
less travel and interruption for the patients and families. " They can see
their physician, have labs drawn, receive infusion, and have any consult
appointments needed in the same room, " says Hansen. " Some of our patients
can spend up to eight hours receiving outpatient care in one day.
In the old model, patients and families would go to different places for all
those different activities. "
Additionally, new universally designed ORs and catheterization labs
feature induction rooms to allow children to stay with their families for
as long as possible. Here, access to daylight and direct views to lush landscaping,
along with whimsical images of flora and fauna on the walls, are
utilized to help reduce stress. " We're in the Pacific Northwest, and nature
and outdoors are a big thing here, " says Hansen. " We thought about how
Healthcare Design - October 2022

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