Each day, I experience healthcare from the designer’s standpoint. I visit hospitals and healthcare centers every week for project meetings, walkthroughs, presentations, survey work and punch listing.

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While reflecting on factors that made recent projects successful, one area of importance came to mind: the Mechanical Equipment Room (MER). Many architects may not consider this an area of importance, as it is not typically a high-design area, rather more of a back-of-house area. Despite the fact that the MER may not have the […]

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While at my previous firm, one of our clients acquired an industrial building next to their hospital with the intention of converting it to a 300-bed inpatient hospital. The building had a large loading dock on the ground floor, as well as three parking floors and 10 industrial floors above. Soon after the purchase, it […]

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The US healthcare landscape is ever changing due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Modifications to the law change healthcare delivery and provide access to insurance coverage to a large population of the previously uninsured. One of the largest underserved populations includes those with mental illnesses. In 2013 alone, an estimated 43.8 million US adults […]

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When the firm is awarded its first ‘win’ with a new client, the excitement is palpable. It is rewarding to be recognized by the client as worthy of their time to start a new relationship and teach a new design firm the standards that drive their institution.

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Large healthcare organizations that are actively merging with and/or acquiring facilities, as well as building new ground-up facilities for better healthcare offerings, need to consider overall performance objectives and determine ways to optimize their operations. In my last post, I discussed how the centralization of services improved quality and reduced cost for Montefiore Medical Center through […]

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As Emergency Departments (EDs) across the country are facing space, resource and staffing shortages, health systems are building Clinical Decision Units, or Observation Units, to help alleviate these stresses. Observation Units provide treatment and monitoring for patients who need further evaluation to determine whether they meet admission criteria. With Observation Units joining EDs, inpatient hospitalization rates […]

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From as early as I can remember, I was designing. Whether it was creating decoupage plates with magazine clippings or rearranging the furniture in my room on a bi-weekly basis, I was always trying to make spaces and objects look and feel better. Growing up, I followed my mother around as she went to every […]

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