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.
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Providing healthy buildings, eradi- cating hospital-acquired infections, focusing on patient stress relief and staf retention continue to be part of many hospitals' tactical goals. While patient-centered, Evidence-Based and Lean design are still strategies for hospital administrators to achieve these goals, green design is one that continues to gain traction and evolve. The following are fi ve main trends to watch this year and beyond. 1. Let the sun shine in Creating built environments that aid in the healing process continues to be a goal of every healthcare planner. While the LEED scorecard sets goals about access to natural light, health- care planners are keenly aware that it matters where this natural light is used. Patients benefi t greatly from access to daylight and a connection to the outdoors; hence, many health- care buildings now locate exam and patient rooms on the perimeter of the 5 green trends to watch Healthy Buildings building and other functions in the core. Healthcare work spaces are becoming more user-friendly, with staf comfort a priority. A strategy that has taken hold in some larger institutions is the on-stage/of -stage concept for patient rooms, in which the patient enters from the public corridor and medical staf enters from the back areas. Patients do not see behind-the-scenes activity, and staf can confer, prepare medications and review reports with uninterrupted concentration. Nurses must have access to areas away from patients so that they can reenergize through quiet isolation, whether it is a walk through adjacent greenery or a break room with a window. 2. Materials engineering The USGBC has led the materials manufacturing companies to continu- ally improve products so that they are less harmful for the environment and for people who come in contact with those materials. In a healthcare set- ting, in particular, a space built of non- toxic materials is highly desirable. Beyond eliminating volatile organic compounds and using biodegradable materials, we are also seeing the in- creased use of PVC-free and chrome- free materials. Most impressive, however, is the advancement of antimicro- bial materials for hospital surfaces. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Harrison, New York was transformed from a 1950's offi ce building into a modern cancer center. The facility features plenty of daylighting and connec- tions to nature. Below: Rooms at Cooper University Health Care, Camden, New Jersey, are designed to allow patients the ability to control their environment. BY OSCAR F. GOMES & COLLEEN E. HARRINGTON Green news & practices Sloan: Ron Blunt; Cooper: Halkin Mason Photography MCDM AG.COM | M AY/ J U N E 2016 | Medical Construction & Design 57