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.
Issue link: https://mcdmag.epubxp.com/i/677235
INTERIOR ESSENTIALS FOR CREATING HEALTHCARE SPACES IN HARMONY WITH FACILITY OCCUPANTS 5 Elements BY DORI MOMMERS & THERESA WOOD Healthcare systems are focusing on the "best patient experience" as one of their top priorities when designing facilities. This focus on the patient is applied in healthcare environments in order to satisfy the needs of patients away from the com- fort and convenience of their own homes, and to provide a higher quality of care. An experience that reduces anxiety and stress and provides additional positive elements is the goal. Five essential factors — choice, social support, positive distraction, access to nature and environmental factors — are important to apply in the design of healthcare facilities to evaluate and help guide decisions intended to enhance a patient's clinical outcome, as well as the overall quality of experience. These essential factors should be used in healthcare facilities through a holistic approach to create interior spaces in harmony with the people that interact within. At the Multiple Sclerosis Center at Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Campus in Seattle, Washington and Baylor Scott + White– Waxahachie in Texas, interior design teams implemented many of these factors, as well as other detailed features, to meet and support the cultural needs of patients within these facilities. Choice The ability to have control in certain aspects of one's experience within a healthcare environment, specifi cally with options of privacy, communication, delivery of information and schedules, is desired among most patients. Controls to a variety of lighting levels and the temperature provide patients The Multiple Sclerosis Center at Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Campus in Seattle, Washington contains an 80-foot-long wall of living plants that improves the air quality throughout the facility. > The MS Center contains a private terrace with patient lift systems and a walkway composed of varying materials, designed to help patients practice walking on different surfaces. MCDM AG.COM | M AY/ J U N E 2016 | Medical Construction & Design 29