CRITICAL CARE
By Zeit, Kristin D | |
As patient, industry, and regulatory demands heat up, hospital administratIion are juggling increasingly urgent phorities. What role does the built environment play in meeting these demands? A panel of owners weighs in By
WHILE ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS are trained to understand the ways in which the built environment can improve the user experience and patient outcomes, for healthcare facility owners, the physical space is just one part of a much bigger puzzle. This is why it's so important to have an owner's rep at the table from the get-go-so he or she can understand how a new project will help achieve the organization's goals and give the facility design the proper attention (and capital) it deserves.
It can be especially productiveand rare-to get a bunch of owners together around a table to consider the challenges of space design within that bigger puzzle. Such a group did convene in November at the 2013
"For some time there has been dissatisfaction with the unbalanced healthcare equation, among patients, insurers, government, and within healthcare organizations," says
Top priorities
Of the 16 priorities identified by Nurture (see "Take Your Pick" on page 22, for the full list), these five garnered the most votes from the owners panel, and by a wide margin:
* Promote an integrated approach to care delivery: Facilitate communication between patients, family, and staff.
* Build a culture of high-quality care delivery: Dynamically integrate overarching quality and safety goals into daily operations.
* Prioritize cost-control opportunities and initiatives: Balance efficiency and effectiveness goals.
* Measure improvements in patient outcomes: Understand the impact of the patient care journey.
* Anticipate and integrate new technology: Integrate technology devices and applications to better support workflow.
The increasing shift from volumeto value-based care, with more empowered patients and a collaborative approach to lifelong health, is evident in these choices. "All of the priorities listed are of significant importance," says
Improved communication will lead to improved safety, an improved experience for all three parties, and a stronger discharge planning process."
Some of the design elements that speak to this goal are same-handed rooms, a family zone within the patient room, increased natural light, and 42-inch patient TVs integrated with technology that allows physicians to call up medical records or videoconference with other specialists.
The design solution
Design of the physical environment is playing a big role in addressing facility priorities, according to many of the participants in the event. "Certainly, if we're going to be investing in new structures or buildings, we want to make sure we're providing care as efficiently as possible," says
"In our older buildings, which we haven't renovated, there isn't necessarily any continuity of space or continuity of the equipment," Molseed says. "But in our clinics, and in any new construction we do, we design or retrofit the physical environment to support the delivery method." That means different designs to support different kinds of clinics, whether it's a high-volume family care practice or a less-trafficked neurosurgeon's office. "When we do this, It builds this culture of high-quality care," Molseed continues. "We get higher productivity out of our caregivers, higher physician satisfaction, and much higher patient satisfaction at the same time."
What Avera doesn't do, Molseed insists, is focus on cost control. "We find that we spend a little more on allocating space, but our return more than pays for it," he says.
Still, costs are an issue for everyone as reimbursement models change. "Every member of our operation is, in essence, being tasked with re-engineering our process with a focus on reducing or maintaining the current costs to operate while improving outcomes," says
Additional concoma
Some of the priorities that didn't make the top five are. nonetheless, of great importance to individual health systems in today's climate. "Our system goal is to be the employer of choice," says WellStar Paulding's Haney. "In planning the new hospital, a focus was to create an environment that enhances the team's ability to excel."
Molseed shares the sentiment. "Employee satisfaction is a big priority. We try to involve our employees in design discussions, and we try to make something that works for them on a dayto-day basis. It's a point of pride: Are our employees proud of our buildings? Do they enhance our community? There's a lot of demand in rural areas here to upgrade facilities. And when we've done that, we really do make a positive impression on the entire community."
The community at large-and, again, the greater focus on long-lasting wellness-was a common theme across the owners' conversations. "We're focusing more on wellness," affirms
"Certainly, if we're going to be investing in new structures, we want to make sure we're providing care as efficiently as possible."
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MORE ONLINE
For more detailed owner feedback from the event, see:
* "What Owners Want: Top Design Issues Facing Hospital Administrators Today" (HCDmagazine.com/whatowners-want)
* Video: On-site interviews with system owners (HCDmagazine.com/video/ owners)
* Q&A:
* Q&A:
Take your pick
At the owners' roundtable conducted by Nurture by
* Deliver positive experiences: Identify opportunities to reduce or prevent patient and family stress.
* Prioritize cost-control opportunities and initiatives: Balance efficiency and effectiveness goals.
* Attract, engage, and develop clinical staff: Develop recruiting and retention strategies focused on the diverse needs of individuals.
* Promote an integrated approach to care delivery: Facilitate communication between patients, family, and staff.
* Optimize space utilization and enable adaptability: Respond to both short-term and long-term requirements.
* Acknowledge that patients have choices in care providers: Deliver patient experiences that are preferred over other providers.
* Support the mental and physical work demands of clinical staff: Identify opportunities to positively impact staff satisfaction levels and well-being.
* Define aspects of patient satisfaction: Align care delivery goals with patient expectations.
* Build a culture of high-quality care delivery: Dynamically integrate overarching quality and safety goals into daily operations.
* Consider the impact of process innovation and evolution: Understanding the relationship of people, process, technology, and space.
* Express identity and image: Connect patients, family, and staff with your brand.
* Support the precepting and collaboration of clinical staff: Enhance the transfer and exchange of knowledge.
* Promote sustainability initiatives: Implement green practices within the organization.
* Anticipate and integrate new technology: Integrate technology devices and applications to better support workflow.
* Enable staff to concentrate in an intense care delivery environment: Recognize the tensions of accessibility, privacy, and concentration.
* Measure improvements in patient outcomes: Understand the impact of the patient care journey.
Copyright: | (c) 2014 Vendome Group LLC |
Wordcount: | 1566 |
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