Contents of Medical Construction & Design - Mar-Apr 2012

Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process. To view more past issues go to: http://mcdmag.epubxpress.com

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BEYOND EVIDENCE -BASED
DESIGN
A call to leadership to create healthcare
environments that enable fl ourishing
By Dr. Wayne Ruga and Dr. Susan Kirkcaldy
he history of designing healthcare environ- ments is a story primarily evolutionary. It records the founding of both a discipline in its own right and, over time, a solid base of evidence through research that demonstrates the validity of using design of healthcare environments to improve health outcomes. The industry is challenged to move beyond the foundations of best practice this evidence base has created to pioneer the next evolution in healthcare design practice that better meets the chal- lenges for system-wide change in the industry. The CARITAS Project is pioneering this new point of evolution from research developed during the last 12 years. The research demonstrates, with a focus on enabling human fl ourishing, the discipline of designing healthcare environments is making a giant leap forward, requiring an entirely new approach to design practice.
T 32 Medical Construction & Design | March/April 2012 www.mcdmag.com