Healthcare Design - December 2020 - 14

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RESH SOLUTIONS to serving the needs of patients and

families within the care environment were on display
in The Center for Health Design's 2020 Healthcare Environment Awards. The annual program, conducted in
partnership with Healthcare Design magazine, celebrates how design can improve safety, enhance experiences, increase organizational efficiency, and improve
outcomes. This year's award categories included acute
care facilities, ambulatory care facilities, COVID-19 response acute care
facilities, and student design work. For more on all the awardees, read
" Counting Our Blessings " on page 38, and visit HCDmagazine.com/
center-awards for additional images and details.
Here's a look as some of the winning solutions that stood out this year.

A M B U L AT O RY

CARE

WINNER:

SPENCER

CANCER

CENTER, EAST ALABAMA MEDICAL CENTER

In response to growing demand for cancer services in its region, Spencer
Cancer Center, East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Ala., set out to
create a new freestanding cancer center that would bring previously scattered services together under one roof and deliver an improved patient
experience. Guided by TRO Jung/Brannen, the design concept aimed to
create a " modern-style building with the feel of an art museum and place
it in nature, " says Doug McCurry, partner and principal at TRO Jung/
Brannen (Birmingham, Ala.), which submitted the project.
Using the existing landscape to guide the flow of the 59,596-squarefoot building, the project team incorporated picturesque views to the
surrounding woodlands and added two-story rooms with clerestory
windows to provide indirect natural light. Furthermore, neutral finishes
allow color in the artwork and furnishings to stand out, while natural materials, including wood-grain flooring, a stone building base, and landscape walls add warm touches.

A C U T E C A R E W I N N E R : M E R C Y H E A L T H , J AV O N B E A

Recognizing a regional gap in care, Mercyhealth set out to design and
build a new 194-bed hospital and clinic in Rockford, Ill., in just 28
months-25 percent faster than is typical for a building of its size and
complexity, says Matthew Sanders, associate vice president, lead architectural designer, and project principal at AECOM (Minneapolis), which
submitted the project.
To ensure the design solutions addressed the needs of diverse stakeholders, focus groups were held with the design team, the health system's
leadership team, former patients and families, and staff, with feedback
informing the patient experience design process.
Six experience objectives were then created to further guide design
goals and solutions. For example, aiming to enhance convenience and reduce stress, the facility includes three distinct entrances for adults, women/children, and outpatient surgery. To promote healing, comfort, and
wellness, the team focused on considering the entire sensory experience,
resulting in a focus on delivering access to daylight and outdoor spaces.
" Building interiors that encourage movement, incorporate nature, increase natural light, provide good acoustics, and integrate pleasing color
and texture all work together to promote mental wellness, " says Cynthia
Saathoff, associate principal and lead interior designer at AECOM. " Design needs to be a holistic approach to be successful. "

The Airborne Infection Isolation Room Module System was conceived
early in the pandemic to meet healthcare organizations' need for surge
capacity. HGA and The Boldt Company teamed up on the concept,
setting their sights on delivering a modular, prefabricated acuityadaptable inpatient unit that was affordable and could be shipped and
installed within 3-4 weeks.
Designing without a client, the team worked with a variety of users,
including critical care nurses and process engineers, to gather input
and test design concepts using virtual reality. The first version featured
a commercially shippable unit and systems that were readily available
to avoid being impacted by an uncertain supply chain. " We had to be
wildly creative about how we fit out that space to meet the needs of our
clients, " says Kurt Spiering, healthcare sector leader at HGA (Milwaukee) and principal planner and designer of the module system.
After the original design was installed in several locations, work began on a second version (shown), which includes improved aesthetics
such as a window in the patient room and environmental graphics to
provide positive distractions.-Anne DiNardo, executive editor

14

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

DECEMBER 2020

COVID-RESPONSE ACUTE CARE WINNER: AIRBORNE
I N F E C T I O N I S O L AT I O N R O O M M O D U L E S Y S T E M

COREY GAFFER PHOTOGRAPHY (MERCYHEALTH); TIM HURSLEY (SPENCER); HGA (ISOLATION ROOM)

H O S P I TA L A N D P H Y S I C I A N S C L I N I C - R I V E R S I D E
http://www.HCDmagazine.com/center-awards http://www.HCDmagazine.com/center-awards http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM
Healthcare Design - December 2020

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