Healthcare Design - April 2017 - 41

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Q&A

with Jason Carney,
AIA, partner
E4H Environments for Health
Architecture

What approach does your
firm use to design spaces
that support care delivery
today but provide enough
flexibility for unknowns of
the future?
E4H's Smart Facility Design
focuses on adaptable
space design embedded
with the flexibility to meet
fluctuations in current
demand as well as future
changes in use.
 Inpatient acuity adaptable
rooms are designed with
the size and infrastructure
requirements that allow the
client to modify the space
for other modes of care in
the future.
 Multispecialty ambulatory
care is designed with
universal, unassigned exam
rooms which are independent

of specific practices. As
demand for services change,
the rooms can be dynamic
according to practice needs.
  
What role does collaboration
play in your process? How do
you ensure the right people
have a voice at the design
table?
Collaboration is essential and
E4H has developed a process
that incorporates input from
clinicians, administrators,
and patients.
We believe that successful
space design starts with
listening. Patient and
family input can create
a framework that guides
collaborative design sessions
with hospital representatives.
Having everyone at the table
provides clarity for how each

Eastern Maine Medical Center, single patient room. Photo: © Brian Vanden Brink

need is balanced against the
whole. This can be achieved
with our live interactive
Smart Facility Design process
or with Lean 3P flow events.
  
What's one critical question
your team always asks clients
in initial project meetings?
Why?
"What is your mission?" This
question sets the framework
and design charter for every
project. With the mission
identified we can understand
who the key stakeholders and
decision makers should be,
what our measures of success
are, and what guidelines
need to be in place. As the
project progresses we use the
mission as a reference point
to ensure we make sound
decisions and that our design
stays on target.
  

e4h

How will the design of
healthcare spaces change to
meet the demands of today's
consumers?
At each step in patient
care there is demand for
family-focused amenities.
Some of these design
elements include larger
exam rooms, overnight family
accommodations in patient
rooms, and provisions for
family in a variety of patient
care areas.
 Today's consumers
have the expectation for
healthcare to be immediate,
exceptional, and wireless.
Urgent care, remote
consultation, and online
check-in give patients an
on-demand experience with
their healthcare providers.
Handheld devices, as well
as miniaturization and
mobility of imaging and
diagnostic equipment, allow
staff and physicians to move
un-tethered and provide
first-rate care, impacting
the work flow and resources
required to manage and care
for patients.
www.e4harchitecture.com

ENVIRONMENTS
FOR HEALTH
ARCHITECTURE
http://www.e4harchitecture.com http://www.e4harchitecture.com
Healthcare Design - April 2017

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