rendering of apartment building with first-floor retail

2020: A Look Back With Pride and Optimism

For all of us responsible for creating the built environment – owners, architects, engineers, builders – the absence of interaction during quarantine amplified our awareness of the built environment and its unique ability to add texture and meaning to the human experience. Since our world changed last March, the DesignGroup team has become increasingly mindful and appreciative of the energy received when working to create the world around us.

We’ve recapped the last 12 months for our firm, a timeframe that tested everyone and brought out their best. DesignGroup was surprisingly active, in terms of client engagement and our people making individual contributions to architecture and communities alike.

Please take a moment to read our year-in-review e-book. We hope it inspires you, as it did us as we put it together.

Healthcare, Community, Commercial

Insights and Inspiration: Our Five Most-Read Articles of 2020

Two years ago, we made a commitment to share more stories of the projects, experiences, and partnerships that happen every day at DesignGroup. We wanted to give our people a platform for their unique perspectives, and they did not disappoint. Last year alone, nearly a third of our staff shared their opinions, inspiration, and expertise.

And our followers really responded to it. How do we know? Like any business committed to continuous improvement, we looked at the data. Our 10 most popular articles alone were viewed nearly 3,000 times and made more 11,000 impressions on social media. The number of readers opening and viewing our email newsletter was, consistently, nearly double the industry average.

We’re proud to share the inner workings of our industry and inner thoughts of our associates. We’ll keep it going in the year ahead. This week, however, we’re looking back on our five most popular posts from 2020, in case you missed them the first time.

5. If All the World's a Stage, I Want Better Lighting

More than 40% of electricity used in healthcare facilities goes toward lighting, and yet too often thoughtful lighting designs are overlooked when a project is more focused on patient-centric care. Anastasia Markiw explains how she uses dynamic lighting to promote healing and comfort, assimilate elements found at home, and allow the staff to perform their jobs effectively.

4. The Grand Opening Blues: When a Project Team Moves On

The conclusion of an architecture project brings different emotions. For those who use the new space, it’s an exciting beginning. For the professionals who designed it, it’s the end of an intense and fruitful relationship. John Ryan reflects on the moment when client and team members go their separate ways.

3. The Power of BIM Partnership: A Conversation with the BIM Managers of the New OSUWMC Tower Project

Building information modeling, or BIM, provides powerful 3D design and review capabilities to any project. When the project is this big, though, it needs to be managed with extra care. In this deep-dive Q-and-A, BIM managers from DesignGroup and HDR describe their successful collaboration on a massive new OSU Wexner Medical Center project.

2. Returning to Work Soon? Make the Most of It

In a new world of Zoom, Teams, and Webex, collaborating with your coworkers can prove much harder than it used to be. In this article, Nikki Wildman gives five rules for engagement in a post-Covid workplace that mixes in-person with virtual collaboration. “Humanity is on our side!” Nikki writes. “Cherish the opportunity to work together; be patient and poke fun at the meetings in this strange, new normal.”

1. What’s Next for Workplace Design? Five Trends To Understand

Let’s hear it for Nikki, who wrote both of our top articles of 2020. In this one, from last August, she looks at the future of workplace design. As the world adjusts to work environments that balance work-from-home with in-office productivity, there are lessons to be learned. “Will the pendulum finally swing back from open-office to the private office?” she asks. “Or is the office itself a thing of the past?” Here are five design trends she says we should watch for.

Healthcare

Inpatient Room Design: Five Time-Tested Strategies for the Future of Your Hospital

by Chris Haedt

AIA, ACHA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C

Principal, Columbus Healthcare Practice Group Leader

Let’s be real – no one wants to stay in a hospital. Until we create a medical ward like Star Trek, where diagnosis and cure are provided almost instantly, we’ll need hospitals and beds. And as we’ve discovered in 50 years of healthcare design, there are always ways to improve them. The best institutions are never satisfied. They always seek new ways to serve and accommodate patients, visitors, and staff.

So if you aren’t thinking about revitalizing your beds, or evaluating the number you have, it’s probably time you did. The best way to start is by defining what you need, then applying strategies to get it right. Here are five future-focused ideas to consider, and some real-life examples that show what’s possible.

1. Improve Bed-to-Care Dependencies

In a hospital setting, not all beds need the same considerations. As you think through any bed expansion, it’s critical to understand the inter-dependencies those beds have with other services in the hospital. For example, DesignGroup recently assisted a hospital client expand its facility. As a PCI-designated stroke center, understanding the relationship between its ICU beds and the rest of the hospital was crucial for ensuring life-saving care. Most of the patients in neuro specialty ICU beds enter through the emergency department, and from there speed is essential for imaging and surgical interventions.

Yet even more important is how these patients (in their most delicate and vulnerable state) are transported from the surgical department to their patient rooms. During that journey, there isn’t a lot of life-saving infrastructure in hallways or elevators, so placing ICU rooms a short distance from the surgical platform helps get patients to a stable location as quickly as possible. The alignment of these floors allowed the clinical team to move quickly between all stages of the care process.

Healthcare design is about putting decisions like these into perspective. A friend of mine recently experienced this stroke-care journey. Although his case was rocky, his amazing clinical team – and the improved alignment of emergency care and ICU bed – saved his life. And for that I am forever grateful.

nurse walks down hospital corridor — Washington Health System CARE Center for Family Birth & Women's Health

2. Simplify and Update

Patient rooms today have changed from their original design intent. As many hospitals upgrade their inpatient floors, simplicity is key. It allows uniformity for staff between old and new units, ease of use by patients and family, and cleanability for infection prevention.

As DesignGroup worked through this process with a recent bed tower expansion, our team worked hand-in-hand with clinical leaders and hospital administration to define both the pain points and successes of their current inpatient floors. For this project, most of our work involved editing the original room by studying and discussing what could be removed or integrated in a better way. This wasn’t only about the perspective of infection control, maintenance, family, or staff, but also included how the space looked and felt – making sure it would work within the culture of the hospital.

The result of this exercise: a room design that echoed what had worked in the previous design but brought new improvements to patient satisfaction, better meeting the clinical team's needs through contemporary headwalls, new medical fixtures, and bright and welcoming finishes. Bringing in a simplified design also allows for ease of integration of forthcoming technologies, allowing the room to adapt long into the future.

inpatient room — Mercer Health Tower Addition Patient Room

3. Design for Flexibility

In every conversation I have with hospital leaders, a major pain point is the possibility of shutting down beds. As many health systems deal with staffing shortages (especially in more advanced care settings), leaders are looking to flex or cross train their staff for greater flexibility on bed floors. From disrupting the care team ratio of the unit, to backing up services elsewhere in the facility, most health systems want to keep their beds open and operational if they possibly can.

That means if you’re starting any bed project and evaluating if you have enough (or too many), you should discuss flexibility. And it’s best to look at it in a multi-faceted way: in terms of clinical care, maintenance, and a mindset of future possibility. In a recent project with a clinical team, the big-picture discussion was about building ICU-level care on all floors. But starting day one only one true ICU floor and two medical/surgical floors that could be upgraded. Each updated room would use a modular headwall/footwall system, allowing for the easy transition in the future to additional medical gasses and power needed in an ICU room without heavy construction.

Most important with flexibility is anticipating how technology could change in the future. Hospital beds are designed years before they are ever implemented. Using these modular systems in rooms means quick and easy transitions from, for example, a more analog patient care board to a fully integrated digital patient care system. While modular solutions should be evaluated to meet specific goals and budgets, it can be a very effective way to reduce downtime and future-proof room design.

4. Think Holistically

When you establish a patient room, it’s not just for them, of course. It needs to serve a wide array of people who will be in and out of it, around the clock, during the patient’s stay. Our job is to design rooms to reduce stress for all of them. And one way to do that is to build upon the different room zones: care team, patients, and family.

For the patient and family, we try to provide as much comfort as possible to accelerate recovery. This is where we can learn from hospitality – in this sense, we are catering to the consumer. Patients and family want comfortable, clean environments that affords them ownership of the space for healing. Clinical teams on the other hand need to monitor their patients. Our job is to help reduce the footsteps into the room to check in on a patient, help improve the visibility to the patient, and reduce the clutter of the items that may need to provide the care.

Simple concepts can be applied to keep staff organized, while helping reduce the perception of “institutional-ness” in the room, such as not mounting glove box holders on the wall. Instead, adding integrated storage solutions to the casework allow these items to be organized and out of sight. Finally, we want to minimize the time spent servicing and maintaining these rooms. From materials management to EVS, we look for ways maintenance staff can access the room without entering it – using concepts like double-sided nurse servers and inboard toilet rooms.

hospital registration area — Mercer Health Tower Addition

5. Listen to Your Teams

When we talk about the room of the future, it usually involves technology. But in my opinion, the room of the future has many connotations. Whatever you do, it should be rooted in the culture of your institution. If you can’t make it “sticky” with your culture and staff, it’s an investment that may not pay off. I recommend taking a deep dive with your front-line care teams – what are their pain points and aspirations? Speaking with staff recently, one of their frustrations was simply spending time messing with remotes and TV functionality, and getting things for the family members. The solution was finding systems that were easier to interface with – touch screen panels at the bedside table, for example – that allowed for the control of MyChart or the TV channels.

To the Future

With the introduction of AI and new technologies, we are on a rapidly changing road. We are already seeing remote patient monitoring with cameras and wearable devices that allow clinical teams to keep an eye on patients without the constant disruption into their rooms. Very quickly we might see this shift to integrating holographics or other digital technology bringing advanced specialty care and people into the patient room (something I’m sure we all wished we had during the pandemic). These are all just applied technologies, and they should be seen as supportive tools that enhance the care delivery and culture of your institution.

A friend of mine recently told me that what she loves about our industry is that we are always looking forward to “what can be.” Any inpatient renovation can be a huge undertaking, and these rooms need to be able to function 10+ years into the future. Remembering these five basic strategies can help create flexible spaces that adapt over time to your needs, your people, and your culture.

Chris Haedt

AIA, ACHA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C

Principal, Columbus Healthcare Practice Group Leader

Chris began his career at DesignGroup in 2007. With over 20 years of experience, he has earned a reputation for design excellence. He leads the Columbus Healthcare Practice Group and has worked extensively with key clients such as OhioHealth and Norton Healthcare. Chris is a leader within the AIA Columbus Healthcare Committee, has spoken nationally and is an Advisory Board member for Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo. In 2023, Chris received the AIA Young Architects Award, an honor bestowed to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the architecture profession early in their careers.

Healthcare

Empathy for Family and Caregivers: How Inpatient Room Design Can Do More

by Angela Kolosky

ACHA, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C

Principal, Healthcare Planning Market Leader

When designing inpatient rooms, no matter the specialty, countless details must be anticipated. Have we mitigated fall risks? Can providers easily access the patient? Are supplies and meds easily restocked and close at hand? Patient and medical staff needs are paramount.

But what about family members and caregivers? Their space in an inpatient room is often the last to be factored into a project – and with varying success. In the last few decades we’ve seen some improvement (especially with the advent of the private patient room) but many inpatient rooms still overlook the needs of loved ones caring for a family member or friend.

And that’s a shame, because these are more than visitors. They’re an important part of the healing process.

Designing a patient room that’s empathetic to these users can be broken down into two fundamental objectives: Helping caregivers as they interact with the patient, and helping as they themselves exist in the space.

Care for the Patient

Having a friend and family caregiver in the room is so important for patient well being – for both psychological and physiological benefits. Sometimes referred to in research as patient guardians, caregivers not only provide companionship within the hospital setting, but can also be an advocate, provide spiritual and psychological support, ensure patient compliance, and aid in personal hygiene and toileting needs, among others (Gwaza and Msiska 2022). In a study about the impact of family presence on patients’ outcomes, it was found that both patients and healthcare providers felt that family members had a positive impact on healing, pain reduction, sleep, reducing anxiety and depression, length of stay, reducing risk of falls, and improving overall patient satisfaction (Fakhry and Mohammed 2022).

As I’ve written before, I love reflecting on my own hospital experiences to inspire design solutions. I remember caring for a loved one during their hospital stay, and how the simple act of washing her hair with her own shampoo (versus what the hospital provided) made such a difference in her demeanor. She was brighter, more alert, and engaged. While it may have been the warmth of someone caring for her, the washing away of a multi-day, bed ridden stay, or the simple aromatherapy from her favorite product (or all three!), there’s no question it improved her emotional and physical state.

As the person trying to give her a shampoo, however, I struggled to do it easily. Despite the room being a new build, I couldn’t run the water long enough to easily fill the small bucket, nor could I get it warm enough. No work surface near the patient bed meant an awkward balancing act as I tried not to soak her. While the primary function in any inpatient room is in support of clinical care, minute changes can have a strong impact on the ease of the family member and caregiver in navigating their environment. I keep these real-world needs in mind on every new project I’m a part of.

nurse prepares bed in inpatient room — UPMC Mercy Hospital patient room with flexible, multi-purpose furniture

Care for Themselves

Let’s be honest: a lot of time in a hospital is spent doing very little. For patients, that often means precious rest. For family members…well, it’s just waiting. And that creates challenges to their own physical and psychological comfort.

Before COVID, in an effort to give family and caregivers respite from the patient room, communal spaces were added to many patient units. Post COVID, these spaces have been under used as family members and caregivers choose to stay in the room. Not just for an infection prevention standpoint, but also for simple proximity to the patient and physicians making rounds.

Increasingly complex patient acuities require caregivers to navigate more interactions with hospital staff. An inpatient study from 2002 to 2017 found that patients are more likely to have multiple co-morbidities and medications, more likely to experience an adverse event, and are more likely to be treated for multiple acute medical issues when admitted through the emergency department (Lowry 2024). And the COVID pandemic further accelerated this shift. The result: family members and caregivers are spending even more time in the hospital setting – and experiencing higher stress.

Another real-world example: I recently spent time with a friend who was hospitalized for multiple days. I had spent the night so their partner could return home for rest. The room was designed to have a recliner at the patient headwall and a built-in (and very uncomfortable) “couch” at the footwall. When the partner returned, I offered the recliner so he could be closer to the loved one. As the patient slept, we attempted to decompress by watching TV…which was directly over my head. Nowhere in the room was there additional seating or comfort. Worse, when the rounding physician came in, it was difficult for us both to feel heard and understood. Which, of course, strained the provider in their attempt to meet the clinical needs of the patient and provide empathic communication with us.

Ideas for Better Room Design

How can we improve these inpatient experiences? One way is to engage with family advocates to understand the nuances of the caregiver experience. Patient room design traditionally has the standard zones: for providers, patient, and family. But reality is much more complex than that. Designing flexibility into sink areas, worksurfaces, and even the patient head wall can help both the clinical team and the family member feel less confined and more at ease while providing care and support.

Modular and mobile furniture solutions have a high potential here for improving flexibility and allowing the room to be rearranged to meet varying needs throughout the day. For instance, if the patient has two visitors, the room can be arranged to allow both to sit at the head of the patient as opposed to one being relegated to the foot of the bed.

Just as clinical teams are adapting to meet more complex patient needs, so too must the patient room adapt to the needs of complex care teams that include friends and family members. By designing for flexibility and the guest’s emotional and physical needs, we can create rooms that are more adaptive and empathetic to all who spend time there.

woman sits in chair in inpatient room — Norton Giles patient room featuring mobile furniture solutions

References

Fakhry, Mohamed, and Wisam Mohammed. 2022. "Impact of family presence on healthcare outcomes." Alexandria Engineering Journal Volume 61 (Issue 12): 10713-10726. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2022.04.027.

Gwaza, Elizabeth, and Gladys Msiska. 2022. "Family Involvement in Caring for Inpatients in Acute Care Hospital Settings: A Systematic Review of Literature." SAGE Open Nursing 8: 1-15. doi:10.1177/23779608221089541.

Lowry, Fran. 2024. "Hospitalized Patients Have Become More Complex Over Time." Medscape Medical News. 01 18. Accessed 04 18, 2024. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/hospitalized-patients-have-become-m....

Angela Kolosky

ACHA, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C

Principal, Healthcare Planning Market Leader

More about Angela

Healthcare

Inpatient Room Evolution: Five Ways to Improve Light and Sound

by Riley Zollars

NCIDQ, Associate IIDA, LEED AP

Associate Principal, Senior Interior Designer

When I think of healthcare design, a quote from Maya Angelou often comes to mind: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Few places activate intense feelings like a hospital.

A hospital visit triggers an array of emotions in patients and their families – many of which are less than warm and fuzzy. In fact, the experience can be sensory overload. Unfamiliar sights and sounds envelop them as they enter and interact in the building. While great care is put into the physical design of a space to supplant negative impressions, there are also intangible elements that play an equally important role in how patients, guests, and staff feel: the light and sound. Both are important in support of physical healing and mental well being.

The inpatient room is a great space to examine this. When you enter a patient room, you rarely focus on the light and sound – unless they’re particularly bad – because there’s a general acceptance that lighting is what it is, and that hospitals are inherently noisy environments. Unfortunately, that mindset can have a dramatic effect on the health and wellbeing of both patients and clinical staff. They should never be underestimated. Here’s why.

inpatient room bed and headwall — The sights and sounds of a hospital are often overwhelming for patients

Let There be Light

Lighting design integrates both artificial and natural light. Well-designed lighting that mimics natural daylight patterns can support the synchronization of patients' circadian rhythms, which promote physiological processes, natural repair mechanisms, and immune function.

And beyond the benefits to patient and clinical staff wellbeing, proper lighting increases visibility and reduces hazards. Well-lit spaces promote infection control by aiding in the identification and removal of potential contaminants. Ideal lighting levels minimize the risk of trips, falls, and other accidents for patients, caregivers, and visitors. This is especially important for elderly and geriatric patients who need more light due to yellowing of their lenses as they age (Salvi, Akhtar and Currie 2006).

Here's how DesignGroup optimizes lighting in patient settings and why it makes a difference.

Light Temperature: A light’s color (also known as temperature), along with its color rendering index (CRI), is important for both proper viewing of the patient and reduced eye strain during detailed work. Color temperature around 4000K is ideal as it is considered “natural light” by color reference scales (Rock 2023). Natural light promotes bright spaces with clarity and consistency. More importantly, this color temperature also blends well with daylight that enters windows in the patient room.

Controls: Controlling light is just as crucial for patients to heal within their spaces as it is for clinical teams to perform their tasks. Within the room, patient function lights can allow for both patient and family to adjust lighting needs simply and easily by selecting a pre-set control, such as exam, reading, ambient, etc. Combining these pre-set controls with different light zones within the room means a patient can sleep, a family member can read, and a clinical team member can administer medication all with appropriate lighting levels.

Shades: Just as artificial lighting controls are important, so are controls for daylighting. Providing dual shades with both a small weave and a blackout option means patients and family can choose the appropriate light for the moment. Allowing daylight to reach a patient can help the healing process and decrease length of stay; studies have shown that proximity to windows in a multi-patient room meant a reduced LOS (length of stay) for patients closest to the windows (Park, et al. 2018).

inpatient room with large window and nature views — Large windows provide natural light to patient rooms at Norton Brownsboro Hospital

Lowering the Volume

Hospitals can be incredibly noisy spaces. Between patients and their amenities, collaboration at nurse stations, overhead paging, and medical equipment alarms, this cacophony can be detrimental to patient and staff health alike. A study found that at times, hospital noise can peak to 85 decibels A (dBA), exceeding the noise level of heavy traffic (Joseph and Ulrich 2007). Gentle and soothing sounds can create a tranquil space, reducing stress and anxiety levels while masking disruptive equipment noises.

Types of Sound: While lowering volume is important, masking sounds can also promote healing. Allowing patients to choose from different masking sounds (such white or brown noise, nature sounds, or even their favorite radio station) can impact them positively. Music in particular has been shown to reduce stress, heart rate, and blood pressure by reducing the production of cortisol, and specific favorite songs or artists can positively affect the pleasure center of the brain (Shapiro 2022).

Sounds and Staff: While we often think of noise reduction for the patients’ benefit, it’s easy to overlook the effect it has on clinical staff. With already increasing concerns for provider and staff burnout in the healthcare industry, sound, particularly with alarms, is yet another contributing factor. A recent article of collected research showed that medical alarms (pumps, ventilators, etc.), even for innocuous events such as rate change, can lead to medical errors and fatigue (Jawadi and Chern 2023). Designing to prevent an accumulation of sounds on staff can help them respond more appropriately when an alarm does sound indicating immediate need of medical attention.

In every healthcare project, DesignGroup explores opportunities for thoughtful integration of lighting and sound to enhance the overall sensory experience for both patients and caregivers. It’s vital for reducing stress, burnout, and errors, and increasing healing, positivity, and overall well being. Next time you’re in a hospital, think about the ways these intangibles affect your own emotional and physical state and of those around you.

References

Jawadi, Zina, and Alexander Chern. 2023. "Hospitals are noisy. They don’t have to be." Association of American Medical Colleges. 08 10. Accessed 04 23, 2024. https://www.aamc.org/news/hospitals-are-noisy-they-don-t-have-be#:~:text....

Joseph, Anjali, and Roger Ulrich. 2007. "Sound Control for Improved Outcomes in Healthcare Settings." The Center for Healthcare Design (4): 1-17. https://www.healthdesign.org/sites/default/files/Sound%20Control.pdf.

Park, Man Young, Choul-Gyun Chai, Hae-Kyung Lee, Hani Moon, and Jai Sung Noj. 2018. "The Effects of Natural Daylight on Length of Hospital Stay." Environmental Health Insights Volume 12: 1-7. doi:10.1177/1178630218812817.

Rock, Garrett. 2023. "Improving Healthcare with Human-Centric Lighting." Insights by Alcon Lighting.November 8. Accessed 04 23, 2024. https://www.alconlighting.com/blog/lighting-design/improving-healthcare-....

Salvi, S M, S Akhtar, and Z Currie. 2006. "Ageing changes in the eye." Postgrad Med 82: 581-587. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2585730/pdf/581.pdf.

Shapiro, Marc. 2022. "Harnessing the Healing Power of Music." Johns Hopkins Medicine. 08 31. Accessed 04 23, 2024. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/articles/2022/08/harnessing-the-hea....

Riley Zollars

NCIDQ, Associate IIDA, LEED AP

Associate Principal, Senior Interior Designer

More about Riley

Healthcare

AI and VR in the Hospital: The Inpatient Room of the Future

by Kristina Bertocchi, Ken Redman

Very few things dominate the national conversation like artificial intelligence (AI). For every person enamored with the potential of ChatGPT and its brethren, there’s someone else decrying these platforms as a workplace cheat code that will potentially put people out of jobs. How it will all play out is unknown.

But here is the reality in healthcare: Trends suggest the workforce is dwindling and shortages in nursing seem inevitable. AI could help alleviate some of those workforce needs, and allow us to use the existing workforce more effectively. It could speed up diagnostic recommendations. And it could help wrangle the terabytes of data the industry generates and do more with it. Equally interesting, though not yet talked about as much, is the role of virtual and augmented reality in healthcare settings.

These technologies can be a miracle for rural and other patients, for example, who today have limited access to specialist care. With these possibilities come considerations, of course. There could be legal and ethical questions, along with the learning curve and adoption by staff who are used to tried-and-true practices.

At DesignGroup, we’re always exploring how new technologies can advance the improvement of healthcare service, safety, and chains of command. In fact, Kristina (co-author of this article) is currently planning and will moderate a special session on technology Summer for the Leadership Summit this July, sponsored by the American College of Healthcare Architects’ and the Academy of Architecture for Health. Our panelists will discuss how leading hospitals and designers are grappling with both the amazing possibilities and unknown perils of AI-powered healthcare.

It’s a rich topic and we’re looking forward to sharing what we learn from the panelists. Until then, here are some initial thoughts on AI and VR, and how we think it could improve experiences for patients and staff alike.

woman sits at desk in medical office building workspace

Artificial intelligence (AI): technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities.
(https://www.ibm.com/topics/artificial-intelligence n.d.)

AI applications in healthcare could range from life-saving treatments based on predictive analytics to managing routine and time-consuming tasks that increase the amount of time a caregiver spends with their patients. Again, let’s look at the drivers AI could solve. We have a clinical shortage and burnout is becoming more relevant as well. There is also a need for higher levels of clinical effectiveness. The nursing shortage is real and many related tasks could be performed with AI: automated documentation, collection of vitals, and bed turns, allowing nurses to download patient history from the previous shift. In fact, this is already in practice in some hospitals. (Holston Sept 2022)

Wearable devices and/or sensors embedded in the room infrastructure could continuously collect vital signs and other data, enabling healthcare professionals to detect early signs of deterioration and respond with faster intervention. AI can create more time for physicians and care teams to research and diagnose underlying medical conditions and accelerate healing, with reduced cost.

In terms of direct engagement with the patient, chatbots could provide instant, 24/7 availability for patients to ask questions, report symptoms, and track their health progress. The idea that a virtual “care companion” could listen to and build a relationship with the patient has lots of potential; AI would be alongside them during their journey, accessible at any time.

Virtual reality (VR): an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one's actions partially determine what happens in the environment.
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtual%20reality)

VR technology has potential for helping lower patient anxiety, reduce boredom, and even alleviate pain. Virtual reality and augmented reality headsets can create immersive experiences that allow patients to visualize their conditions and treatment options more effectively. Imagine a surgeon using VR to simulate a procedure you or a loved one will experience. This could help them explain the process to you and reduce the unknowns. (We don’t know if we would need or want to see everything, but we love having it as an option.)

VR headsets could also simulate relaxing environments for patients in extended stays, or those who struggle with confinement in the bed or room. Apple’s VisionPro VR simulates IMAX-size movie environments in an easy-to-manage headset that is self-contained and untethered from a PC or gaming platform. It’s believed that VR could aid in pain management, too, by providing a distraction for patients recovering from painful procedures, helping them relax, and contributing to their overall well being.

woman wearing VR headset — VR headsets can be used to simulate procedures, relax patients, or provide entertainment.

While many changes like these coming to the inpatient room are virtual, the space and personal experience is still (and always will be) physical. Creating a physical space that is working with, not against, the technology is crucial. We should strive to strike a balance between clinical functionality and hospitality comforts to create healing environments that feel less institutional and more welcoming.

Advances like these have so much promise to remove the burden of rudimentary tasks on nurses and physicians, allowing them to provide even greater hands-on, empathic clinical care. It also has the possibility of easing the experiences of long-term patients, fostering quicker recoveries, and lessening the emotional toll of a hospital stay.

Kristina’s panel discussion with Cleveland Clinic’s Director of Planning Travis Tyson and Anita Smarth, CEO of Clinovations Government + Health, will take place during the July 26-28 Senior Leadership Summit. To learn more, please visit https://healtharchitects.org/summer-leadership-summit-sls/.

Kristina Bertocchi

AIA, NCARB

Designer

More about Kristina

Ken Redman smiling, wearing a black polo shirt