Healthcare Design - April 2021 - 7

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Q&A

with Lindsay Hampton, NCIDQ, CHID
Principal, Pulse Design Group
How does your firm work
with clients to help them
navigate the current
healthcare market?
The healthcare industry is
constantly evolving, meaning
our team evolves in conjunction. COVID-19 forced
the community to rethink
traditional design methodology and quickly respond to the
unforeseen in terms of innovation, technology, flexibility,
wayfinding, workflow and
even materials. In immediate
response, our team designed
a drive-through COVID
testing facility (the region's
first). Additionally, our team
jumped into action driving
to Wisconsin to pick up a
specific paint used in combination with UV light to kill the
virus on protective equipment
after realizing the product
was not available locally. The
quick turnaround expedited the project timeframe,
allowing the health system to
mobilize faster in response to
the pandemic.

performance. Our collective
experience allows us to understand the universal needs
of healthcare facilities, while
also appreciating and accommodating each healthcare
system's distinct needs. The
depth of our expertise allows
us to ask the right questions
at the right time to create
designs that meet current
needs as well as anticipate for
the future.
What approach does your
firm use to design spaces
that support care delivery today but provide
enough flexibility for unknowns of the future?
Our team utilizes Lean planning principles to evaluate
major departments on each
project from a patient, care
giver, and support staff
perspective. Feedback from
these sessions can drastically
change initial schematics
and creates an environment
focused on efficiency tied
closely with technology and

What role does
collaboration play in your
process? How do you
ensure the right people
have a voice at the
design table?
Collaboration and communication are critical aspects
of any project. Involving
stakeholders, end-users,
and design consultants
early in the process provides
crucial feedback that can
save time and help avoid
future changes. Our team
continuously meets with
hospital executives, strategic

planning teams, and frontline
staff throughout each phase
of design to refine and adapt
short and long-term goals, with
a focus on expandability and
financial viability. In addition, we
carefully coordinate with various
consultants and contractors
to develop detailed meeting
documentation and visual aids
that ensure consistency, clear
communication, and efficient
problem solving while adapting
to evolving project requirements.
What's one major design or
care delivery trend that's
shaping your work today?
And how so?
Pulse Design Group utilizes an
interactive design approach with
a vision to truly revolutionize the
way healthcare facilities look and
function. Wellness campuses are
gaining popularity as a one-stopshop for " proactive healthcare "
versus " reactive healthcare, "
and there is a strong focus
on designing for whole body
wellness and not simply treating
the illness. Common services
provided at wellness campuses
include fitness centers, nutrition
education, mental health, retail
spaces, healthy dining options,
and a major focus on utilizing
outdoor space. The result is
an environment intentionally
designed to optimize the patient
experience, create community,
and encourage healing, trust,
and communication. 
www.pulsedesigngroup.com

LMH Health West Campus, Lawrence, Kan. Photo: Michael Robinson Photography
http://www.pulsedesigngroup.com http://www.pulsedesigngroup.com
Healthcare Design - April 2021

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