Medical Construction & Design

NOV-DEC 2017

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/909550

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 32 of 62

READY 28 Medical Construction & Design | NOV EMBER / DECEMBER 2017 | MCDM AG.COM BY LISA LIPSCHUTZ Healthcare design requires careful thought, consideration and attention to detail, especially when designing for a pediatric population. While routine pe- diatric care is typically community based in medical offi ce, ambulatory, urgent care, emergency and even community acute care hospitals, specialized, complex care is routinely sought out at pediatric centers of excellence. Dedicated children's hospitals of the future must provide all levels of inpatient and outpatient care for children of all ages, backgrounds and conditions. The design of these institutions must not only respond to known, documented, Evidence-Based Design attributes, but the planning con- siderations and design of such institutions must be visionary in response to a rapidly changing future. The criteria to develop the design of inpatient pediatric units can be categorized as follows: people, technol- ogy and safety & infection control. Design for patient populations, accommodating visitors and staff The inpatient pediatric unit of the future must take into consideration patients, fam- ily members and a multitude of healthcare providers. Patients with chronic and/ or medically complex diseases may be underserved depending on their access to coverage and care. Dedicated children's hospitals support a variety of clinical dispositions ranging the gamut from primary care to routine diagnostic test- ing and procedures to support care of a high-acuity patient population requiring complex interventions and inpatient stays. Some patients, aff ectionately referred to as "frequent fl iers," require ongoing visits to the facility. Processes may be employed to streamline aspects of their stay to improve the "repeat patient" experience. Pediatric patients range in age from infant to child to adolescent. The design of the patient care units must meet the needs of all ages, although in some instances it may be appropriate to have dedicated areas for diff erent age groups; for example, a teen or adolescent room may be required in addition to a more juvenile play room. Incorporation of the child life services in support of education, play and activity is essential. Child life requires dedicated space, which can be as minimal as unit- based storage or as robust as centralized, multi-purpose activity and/or classroom spaces. CHILD - Envisioning pediatric spaces of the future Ground fl oor views and outdoor access is available for pediatric patients and families at Capital Health Hopewell Medical Center in Pennington, New Jersey. 5.9M Annual number of hospital stays for children in the U.S. — hcup-us.ahrq.gov 1 in 6 Nearly one out of every six discharges from U.S. hospitals is for children aged 17 years and younger. — hcup-us.ahrq.gov E E E E E E E E E E E E E n n n n n n n n n n n n v v v v v v v v v v v i i i i i s s s s s s s s i i o o o o o n n n n n n i i n n n n n n n n n n n g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g p p p p p p p p p e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e d d d d d d d i i i i i i a a a a a t t t t t t t r r i i i i i i i i i c c c c c c c c s s s s s p p p p p p p a a c c c c c e e e e e e e s s s o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f t t t t t t t t h h h h h h h e e e e e f f f f f f f u u u u u t t t t t t t t u u u u u u u u r r r r e e e e e e e THE FUTURE ISSUE FOCUS

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Medical Construction & Design - NOV-DEC 2017