Survey: Healthcare Designers Look To Future Of Medical Facilities In Light Of COVID-19 Pandemic

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The American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) has released the key findings of a survey of its members revealing their insights on the future of healthcare architecture and the role of design in the context of the COVID-19 healthcare crisis.

“The extensive experience of ACHA’s healthcare architects gives us unique insights into how this pandemic will shape the future of healthcare,” said Vince Avallone, AIA, ACHA, CASp, LEED AP, the ACHA‘s President. “These findings will influence the design of hospitals and healthcare environments for years to come.”

ACHA Coronavirus Survey Reveals Healthcare Designers’ Role In Addressing The Pandemic

The ACHA survey revealed:

• Over 63% of respondents helped clients evaluate alternative care sites.

• Over 60% of ACHA experts were called on to help healthcare systems increase capacity – 28% created over 100 beds.

• Over 70% of respondents believe design for mass casualty patient surges will be an important element for hospitals in the future.

• Over 80% of respondents thought the telehealth boom would have major impact on facility design.

ACHA surveyed 129 certified professional healthcare designers to reveal lessons learned from COVID-19 and the role of architects in addressing the crisis. Participants represent areas across North America, including many severely affected states such as New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, California, and Pennsylvania.

What Will Happen With Healthcare Facilities After The COVID-19 Pandemic?

The survey also identified the healthcare designers’ concerns about the future:

• How can hospitals be designed so normal operations (such as elective procedures) can continue through a pandemic so as not to disrupt regular patient treatment and create financial shortfalls for providing institutions?

• With the likely implementation of restrictions on patient/visitor traffic flow to control cross-contamination, how will this transform facility intake and entry design?

• How will increased restrictions placed on patient/visitor traffic flow to control cross-contamination transform facility intake and entry design?

• How can architects emphasize building flexible, adaptable facilities that can be easily modified to allow a quick response to changing medical priorities?

• How can healthcare and non-healthcare facilities be designed to handle patient overflow in a more expedient fashion?

ACHA Member Represent The The Top U.S. Healthcare Design Firms

“ACHA certificate holders represent a majority of the nation’s top healthcare design firms,” said Avallone, a Vice President/Senior Medical Planner at SmithGroup. “These results show our continuing commitment to help develop solutions for future healthcare design challenges. ”

For the full results of the survey, click here.

 

Source: Building Design+Construction

Vanderbilt University Medical Center To Convert Tennessee Supermarket Into Surgery Center

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Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tenn.) plans to convert a former Harris Teeter supermarket into an 15 million, 50,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center that will include seven operating rooms, 18 exam rooms, nine infusion stations, and two procedure rooms offering urology, orthopedic, and oncology services in Belle Mead, Tenn., according to the article in the Nashville Business Journal:

Residents of Belle Meade will have a new health care option in their neighborhood. Vanderbilt University Medical Center filed permits with Metro to renovate a former Harris Teeter supermarket at a price tag of more than $15 million, according to the permits. The 50,000-square-foot Belle Meade Ambulatory Surgical Center will be located at 6002 Highway 100, at the Highway 70 and Highway 100 split.

Vanderbilt has been growing its Middle Tennessee footprint in recent years and now has approximately 100 sites of care, such as urgent care centers and oncology centers, across the region. Last year, the health system bought Tennova Healthcare-Lebanon from Franklin-based Community Health Systems.

The Belle Meade surgery center will give the neighborhood’s financially well-off residents, who typically have private insurance, a convenient access point to the VUMC system. The facility will include seven operating rooms, 18 exam rooms, nine infusion stations and two procedure rooms, according to a news release, and will offer urology, orthopedic and oncology services.

“This new facility will provide convenient, state-of-the-art care for people closer to where they live, and represents another example of Vanderbilt’s commitment to expand to meet the needs associated with our growing region,” Dr. C. Wright Pinson, VUMC deputy CEO and chief health system officer, said in the release.

It was not immediately clear when renovations on the facility would begin or when the facility is expected to open. The surgery center is currently in the design-development phase with New York-based Blair + Mui Dowd Architects, according to the release. Messer Construction Co. is listed as the applicant on the permit.  The supermarket closed in 2015.

 

Source: healthcare design

Doctors And Dentists Offices Begin Reopening In South Florida

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Many doctors and dentists closed their offices during the coronavirus lockdown.

Now, as they begin to reopen, it’s becoming clear that visiting the doctor’s office will come with a whole new set of rules. As things slowly start to creep toward normality places like dentists offices are figuring out what a new normal is going to look like.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, dentist offices have had a tough choice to make; whether to remain open for emergencies or close completely, to ensure their patients, staff, and families were safe.

“I have a newborn that was born in February, so going home after that’s going on with COVID, you want to take those extra precautions,” said Dr. Joshua Golden with West Sunrise Dentistry. “But I knew this is what I signed up for once I became a dentist. I need to take care of my patients.”

Doctor Golden said that’s why he chose to stay open, seeing patients through virtual means for minor situations and in person, for more serious stuff.

“We would basically triage the patient over the phone, see what they needed,” Dr. Golden explained. “Let’s say it’s a broken tooth. If it’s a broken tooth, it’s sharp, it’s hurting you, that is an emergency.”

It was the same for Doctor Arnaldo Lopez of the Somi Dental Group in South Miami. He told Local 10 News‘ Ian Margol they had patients come from as far as Naples and Fort Myers for help because there were so few offices open. And Lopez says, they were learning on the fly.

“Every day was completely different,” said Dr. Lopez. “Some days we might have one patient and I would have half of the staff come in, and out of nowhere five patients would call and I would have to call the staff last-minute because they were all basically on call.”

Click here to view the WPLG Local 10 News video ‘Closed For Coronavirus, Many South Florida Doctors And Dentists Begin Reopening Offices‘

 

Source: Local 10 News