AUTHOR INFO Christine Guzzo Vickery, CID, EDAC, is a vice president and interior designer at HGA Architects and Engineers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has worked with healthcare systems across the country and has focused her career on designing supportive, healing healthcare environments that inspire patients, family, and staff. Dennis Vonasek, AIA, ACHA, CID is a vice president and healthcare principal at HGA Architects and Engineers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dennis Vonasek is a hands-on principal in the Healthcare Practice Group. With diverse leadership experience as a principal, project manager and designer, Vonasek keenly understands the different aspects of a project, enabling him to better meet clients’ needs. As a team leader, Vonasek builds mutual understanding between players in the design process.
Private Patient rooms: Home away from Home Hospitals are increasingly providing every patient with a private room. In paediatric facilities, layouts for these rooms have three “zones”: The family zone is located next to large windows that bring in natural daylight and provide views to healing gardens and landscaping outdoors. This zone typically includes a kitchenette and table for preparing snacks, enjoying simple family meals or doing homework; a sleeper sofa or pullout bed for parents’ overnight stays; and a desk with Wi-Fi access so parents can work in the room. Flexible seating arrangements accommodate visiting siblings, relatives and friends. Storage areas keep clothing neat, and shelves allow families to display pictures and mementos. The patient zone is centred on the bed. Often times sliding panels in the headboard conceal medical gas and other equipment to minimize the intimidation. Custom-designed footwalls provide space for patients to store personal items. Flat- screen TVs, docking stations and Wi-Fi are becoming standard in paediatric patient rooms, so kids can watch movies, listen to music on their iPods and surf the internet. Communication technologies, such as Skype™ or GetWellNetwork®, allow children to connect with their classrooms, talk to their friends and keep in touch with
siblings at home. The caregiver zone is located close to the corridor and lavatory. Built-ins and panels in headwalls conceal medical equipment, while providing easy access for staff. Designing nurse’s stations with windows to three or more private rooms gives caregivers immediate visual access to patients. Mobile carts with medications and equipment can be easily transported from room to room. Paediatric patient rooms accommodate
children from pre-school age through teenagers. So materials, finishes and décor need to be appropriate for a wide age range. Finishes and colours should be age- neutral, but engaging. A simple shape like a starfish can be part of a graphics display that engages teenagers with a description of starfish in medical research. Ceilings are great spaces for simple art and fibre-optic or neon sculptures that can provide positive distractions.
for tHe family: lounges and Play sPaces Paediatric patients, no matter what their age, generally come with parents and other family members, some of which stay with the patient. The design of paediatric units needs to address this reality, and accommodate the requirements of family members. In addition to incorporating a zone into private patient rooms for
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