...experience and remedy operational inefficiencies using research from the Center for Health Design, a research and advocacy organization based in Concord, Calif. CHD has conducted over 1,200 studies examining ways design can enhance health care. As a result of the studies, hospitals say they have made several improvements in patient accommodations and building floor plans.
Spacious rooms with extra storage and areas for visitors to stay overnight have replaced traditional double-bed patient rooms divided by a flimsy curtain. Rooms are being built using a uniform layout, which allows staff to quickly and efficiently find supplies and equipment, decreasing mistakes. Sinks conveniently installed at the entrance of patient rooms are becoming more prevalent so physicians, visitors and staff can wash their hands to prevent infections.
More hospitals also are adhering to green building guidelines to further create an environment of wellness. When Children’s Hospital of Alabama opens in 2012 it will become the first hospital in the state to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
Meeting LEED criteria, which is often geared toward commercial buildings, can be difficult for health-care facilities. But the Birmingham hospital overcame such challenges by recycling and reusing building materials salvaged during demolition, selecting low-emission materials and using rooftop landscaping to absorb heat and stormwater runoff.
“Health care is not meant to be green,” says McDevitt. “Hospitals use copious amounts of water and energy. So we formed a green team comprising patients, parents and employees to identify opportunities where we could recycle more, work with public transportation and adopt other sustainable practices.”
Overall, the hospital will use roughly 20% less energy than a non-LEED-certified facility, save an estimated $850,000 annually and recoup the additional cost of becoming LEED-certified in less than 10 years.
While becoming LEED-certified increased the project’s building costs by up to 4%, some hospitals have been able to meet the criteria without incurring additional expenses. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago satisfied LEED standards without significantly increasing project costs by combining commonly used features such as LED lights with sophisticated design solutions such as a complex airflow system on a $575-million new hospital project, slated to be completed in 2012. The hospital opted for an innovative design that shaped the top five floors into a butterfly pattern to meet LEED’s energy-efficiency requirements.
“We found the LEED criteria to be a good way to challenge engineers and designers to develop sustainable, cost-effective solutions,” says Mick Zdeblick, vice president of campus transformation for the center. Rush and other health-care owners also challenge engineers and designers to build facilities capable of handling increased demand occurring during widespread emergencies or because of escalating future patient volumes.
To respond to natural or man-made disasters, Rush more than doubled the size of its emergency department to 46,000 sq ft and installed a versatile floor model that allows its 52 treatment bays to be converted into a 400-bed response center.
In designing the new 550-bed, $1.7-billion Cathedral Hill Hospital in San Francisco, the California Pacific Medical Center maximized interior space by eliminating storage areas for physical medical records and designating certain space to be rearranged later for additional capacity. Geoffrey Nelson, the center’s director of enterprise development, says, “We are building the next phase of health-care facilities, and [they] need to have enough flexibility to be used for 50 years or longer.”
