The 2022 Healthcare Design Convention + Expo will likely be held Oct. 8-11 in San Antonio. The annual occasion will provide a wide range of keynote and breakout classes on a variety of subjects.
Healthcare Design is previewing a few of the upcoming academic classes in a collection of Q+As with audio system, sharing what they plan to debate and key takeaways they plan to supply attendees.
Session: “E81- City Medical Facilities and their Neighborhoods: Design for Well being and Vibrancy”
Audio system: Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Affiliate Principal, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Scott Habjan, Senior Affiliate Principal, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; and Timothy Keane, Director of Planning and Improvement Providers, Metropolis of Boise.
Regardless of the significance of city medical facilities to their communities, the design of those services is often pushed extra by their appreciable planning constraints than their humanistic mission and position as “the last word neighborhood facility.”
Their measurement, planning, and operational complexity virtually invariably locations them at odds with the size and character of their city neighborhood context.
This session will give attention to how evolving concepts of each healthcare and urbanism can mix to create a brand new mannequin for the city medical heart that may enhance the well being and welfare of sufferers, guests, and employees, in addition to neighborhoods for the mutual advantage of all.
Healthcare Design: How are concepts about healthcare and urbanism evolving?
Scott Habjan: Healthcare is evolving in some ways together with telemedicine, customized drugs, and wearable applied sciences. The shift in direction of preventive care and wellness, in addition to consideration to clinician burnout (accelerated by COVID-19) are additionally on the forefront of driving healthcare innovation.
Daniel O’Shaughnessy: Even earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic reworked the way in which we used cities and the expectations positioned on public well being in any respect ranges, there was a transition underway towards extra livable and extra sustainable city locations that encourage well being and wellness. Cities all around the nation are reinventing infrastructure—from city highways to waterfronts to, sure, outdated medical facilities—and inspiring growth that focuses on walkability, ground-level vibrancy, and entry to nature.
What position do city medical facilities maintain of their neighborhoods?
Habjan: Like authorities buildings or universities, city medical facilities are actual anchor establishments inside a neighborhood. Along with offering neighborhoods and cities entry to important healthcare providers, in addition they present important jobs and generate appreciable enterprise for the native economic system.
Importantly, some city medical facilities are increasing their core mission by additional participating with their communities to provide different social providers associated to well being. Sadly, the precise design of those services usually makes them really feel extra “other than” as an alternative of “part of” their neighborhoods.
O’Shaughnessy: The important thing for us is that these city medical facilities more and more have a duty to be good city neighbors—not solely well being infrastructure, however neighborhood infrastructure as effectively. Design has an enormous position to play in making this work.
What’s a forward-thinking design strategy that you just’d prefer to see utilized to those initiatives?
Habjan: As attitudes about healthcare proceed to evolve towards wellness and preventative care, city medical facilities can embody and facilitate that motion by increasing their choices to handle the social determinants of well being and encourage health and vitamin. They’ll help a extra holistic strategy to healthcare that consists of making it simpler to take care of 1’s personal well being.
Methods this may be achieved is thru city medical facilities figuring out synergies with different neighborhood organizations (similar to a YMCA or an area farmers’ market) and creating partnerships on-site.
By embedding extremely seen wellness packages like these on the bottom flooring, city medical facilities can activate the general public realm, broaden their mission, and turn out to be extra vibrant neighborhood hubs.
What’s one takeaway out of your session that you just hope attendees stroll away with?
Habjan: City medical facilities needs to be the last word neighborhood facility and by re-inventing themselves as city well being facilities they’ll do exactly that.
For extra on the HCD Convention schedule and registration, go to hcdexpo.com.