Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008 - 25

Designs By Samuel Greengard Engineering helps $25 billion health care facility industry modernize with equal parts care and comfort T he art and science of treating people and improving their physical being has steadily evolved over the past century. Medicine has undergone enormous advances, and new knowledge and technology have revolutionized the treatment of sickness and disease. Step into a typical medical facility anywhere in the country these days, and you’ll confront a menagerie of high-tech equipment set amid a fairly sterile backdrop of white walls and harsh, utilitarian design—an environment that under any circumstances would seem uninviting. advanced medical machinery—as well as systems to track and maintain them. Increasingly, research studies, patient focus groups, a shifting industry outlook and the sheer logistics of integrating systems and equipment into a facility influence decision-making. Says Sarah Gilbert, director of strategic capital projects for St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia, Mich.: “Hospital buildings are aging, and health care providers are looking to evolve to a more contemporary approach. There is a focus on building facilities that better meet the needs of patients.” Rx for Change But all that may soon change. The concept of what a hospital is and how it should look is, for the first time, undergoing serious reexamination. In recent years, health care providers have challenged architects, designers and engineers to take a fresh look at how they design patient rooms, waiting rooms, nursing stations, utility closets and public spaces. “An entirely different approach to building facilities and designing space has emerged,” says Todd Liebert, president of Clark Patterson Lee, a Rochester, N.Y.–based design firm that specializes in hospital projects. A confluence of factors is changing the industry landscape. For one, there’s a greater desire to make patients feel comfortable— and thus improve a facility’s image, market share and clinical efficacy. And then there are regulatory factors, such as the need to design rooms for a single patient. Finally, a tangle of new technologies is streaming into the hospital environment. These include advancements in wireless networks, air quality systems, entertainment systems, communications equipment and more began to solicit a second opinion about what a hospital is and what approach it should take. Melding medical needs with a bit of a Marriott mentality, some said, would create a more comfortable environment—one that helps patients heal. The concept first took shape in birthing rooms. Some hospitals began to equip these spaces with plush sofas and chairs, colorful walls, attractive art and beds that looked like they were rolled in from a furniture showroom. Closets, drawers and other hidden spaces sported the less aesthetically pleasing equipment needed to handle a delivery. The trend eventually became a marketing tool for health care providers looking to gain a competitive advantage in the highly n entirely different approach to building facilities and designing space has emerged. TODD LIEBERT CLaRk PaTTERSOn LEE A Creating a comfortable stay for medical patients hasn’t always been at the vanguard of thinking. Throughout most of the 20th century, hospitals have been drab and sterile places filled with uncomfortable furniture, harsh fluorescent lights, noisy rooms, bad smells and unappealing food. Too often, patients shared rooms, had limited privacy and little space for visitors. In the 1990s, the health care industry september / october 2008 eNGINeerING INc. 25

Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008

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