MEDIA CONTACT:
Jennifer Neighbors
(414) 476-5781; jennifer@neighborspr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 7, 2012
Full-scale Model of Room Displayed at National Healthcare Design Conference
MILWAUKEE – The inpatient hospital room designed by a team from the Milwaukee and Madison, Wis. offices of Kahler Slater, an award-winning architecture and experience design firm, won the nationwide 2012 Patient Empowered Room Design Competition.
Presented by the Institute for Patient-Centered Design Inc., the competition challenged design teams from around the country to submit plans for an ideal inpatient hospital room that would facilitate patient-centered care by creating conditions in which patients, their families and caregivers can actively participate in the care plan, promoting desired health outcomes.
A full-scale model of Kahler Slater’s winning design – complete with furnishings, fixtures and equipment – was on display during the Healthcare Design Conference, held Nov. 3-6 in Phoenix. The built room was the site of the conference’s Patient Experience Simulation Lab, a workshop in which attendees participated in exercises that presented realistic patient scenarios that demonstrated the importance of patient-centered design by allowing participants to experience the environment from the perspectives of the patient and family members.
In designing the space, the Kahler Slater team drew on its years of real-world experience designing health care facilities across the United States and overseas, insights gleaned during patient focus groups, lean design principles that enhance caregiver efficiency, field-proven design strategies that help create a healing environment that also is efficient, and the expertise of a multi-disciplinary team that included architects, an interior designer and a nurse/medical planner.
Among the room’s features were:
· A family zone with sleeper sofa, refrigerator and desk.
· Large windows that bring in ample natural light and offer views of nature.
· A charting area with computer at the patient’s bedside to facilitate documentation and the sharing of information with the patient.
· “Smart” technology that gives the patient control of window shades, lighting and room temperature.
· An iPad dock and “smart” television that allow the patient to access the Internet and request room service.
· A bathroom grab bar with imbedded lights that automatically illuminate at the patient’s touch.
· Storage that gives nurses convenient access to the most frequently needed supplies, allowing caregivers to spend more time at the patient’s bedside.
· A ceiling lift to assist caregivers in patient transfers.
· Standardized, same-handed room design to improve efficiency and enhance patient safety.
· Environmentally preferable materials that also contribute to indoor environmental air quality.
Competition entries were judged by a 10-person jury comprised of leaders in the health care design field, representing evidence-based design research, academic research, hospital facility planning, design innovation, government standards for health care projects, patient-centered care and patient-centered design.
Submissions were evaluated based on the innovation and thoughtfulness used in incorporating the Institute for Patient-Centered Design’s 10 principles of patient-centered design into the design solution – respect privacy; facilitate communication, collaboration and trust; accommodate patient and family participation; empower patients; promote safety and security; provide accessible accommodations; create comfortable environments; support healing; support staff’s goals; and identify design opportunities that respond to unmet needs.
About Kahler Slater
Founded in 1908, Milwaukee-based Kahler Slater began as a regional provider of architecture and interior design services and has grown to become a global, award-winning team of Experience Designers. With three offices in the United States and Singapore, Kahler Slater is a team of creative problem-solvers who work with visionary clients seeking better experiences and environments for themselves and the people they serve. Follow Kahler Slater online at www.kahlerslater.com and on Twitter at @KAHLERSLATER.
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