Design for Critical Care

Design and Role of the Intensive Care Unit

July 28, 2016 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Book Chapter

Book Title: Handbook of Intensive Care Organization and Management
Book Editor: Andrew Webb
Publisher: Imperial College Press
Publication Date: July 28, 2016
Chapter Title: Design and Role of the Intensive Care Unit
Chapter Authors: Neil A. Halpern and Diana C. Anderson

Key Points

ICU-specific design is a complex process and requires a multidisciplinary team which includes both clinical and expert design-based professionals.
The layout of an ICU is arguably the most important design feature affecting all aspects of critical care services.
The core of the ICU experience is the patient room, conceptually subdivided into patient, caregiver and family/visitor zones.
Central clinical support zones within the ICU act to bind the patient rooms and other supportive areas together, with the overall goal of supporting bedside care.
Deploying advanced informatics into the modern ICU electronically integrates the patient with all aspects of care.

Link to Purchase Book:

Handbook of Intensive Care Organization and Management Book Chapter

Intensive Care Unit Design – 25 Years of Winning Trends

June 27, 2016 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Presentations

Presentation Title: Intensive Care Unit Design – 25 years of winning trends
Event: European Healthcare Design Congress
Presentation Date: June 27, 2016
Event Location: Royal College of Physicians, London, UK

Session Description:
The goal of intensive care is to provide the highest-quality treatment in order to achieve the best outcome for critically ill patients. Research supporting the impact of the built environment has exerted a strong influence on multidisciplinary design teams as they seek solutions to maximize operational efficiency and create supportive healing environments for patients, families, and clinical staff.

The ICU is an ever-changing and rapidly advancing environment, with the integration of advanced informatics adding a new layer of complexity to design planning and operations. Future ICU designs will require planning for long-term flexibility by incorporating design decisions that accommodate changing care practices and information technology.

Dochitect speaks at European Healthcare Design 2016 about critical care design and provides an overview of winning design trends over the last 25 years. Click here to view a video of the presentation.

Dochitect also judges the European Healthcare Design Awards for Healthcare Design Projects over 25,000M2. Click here to learn more about the awards ceremony and winning designs.

Conference Presentations

What Will the ICU of the Future Look Like

December 11, 2014 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Popular Press

Publication: Society of Critical Care Medicine, Critical Connections Newsletter
Date: December/January 2014, Volume 12, Number 6
Authors: Sandy Swoboda, RN, MS, FCCM; Diana C. Anderson, MD, March; D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA, EDAC; Charles D. Cadenhead, FAIA, FACHA, FCCM; Neil A. Halpern, MD, FCCM; Dan R. Thompson, MD, MA, FCCM
View Article

Demand for intensive care unit (ICU) beds is increasing as the nature of medical practice shifts to become more multi-professional and multidisciplinary. These trends likely will be reflected in both our critical care space design and working practices. Clinicians are spending more time at computers to complete documentation and more time discussing cases with the multi-professional team. Parallel to this shift toward healthcare provider teams is a growing awareness about the impact of evidence-based design principles on patient care and staff efficiency. The environment’s impact on the healing process, infection control practices and safety increasingly are studied in the context of a unit’s design and architectural layout. Hybrid professionals and interdisciplinary groups provide integrated solutions that cross disciplines in new ways.

In addition to assembling a task force to update the Guidelines for Critical Care Unit Design, members of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) ICU Design Committee are champions for change and healthcare improvement. In this article, this diverse group shares their thoughts on the ICU of the future.

Click here to read more from the SCCM ICU Design Committee members about what the ICU of the future will look like.

Additional Press:

Note Dr. Anderson’s viewpoints on this topic, entitled “View from the Dochitect: Reflections of a Physician-Architect on ICU Design,” are presented as part of a panel discussion on the future of ICU design at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s 43rd Annual Congress in San Francisco, CA; January 13, 2014.

Commentaries, Panel Discussions

Process Improvement & Clinical Efficiency through Facility Design

April 2, 2014 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Webinar

Webinar Title: Lean Planning & Design Innovation
Webinar Date: April 2, 2014
Title: Process Improvement & Clinical Efficiency through Facility Design

In this webinar presentation, dochitect examines innovative design trends based on clinical practice anecdotes.

The notion of medial rounding practice is reviewed and how design can make this daily process of information gathering more efficient is discussed.
The changing work hour regulations for clinicians means subsequent space design modifications to support the new model of nocturnal practice are becoming recognized.
The need for multidisciplinary teams is reviewed and why the future of patient care will require designated spaces for promoting communication and teamwork is discussed.
Through a further understanding of medical conventions, design strategies for ambulatory care are reviewed in order to promote efficient care in the clinic setting.

Click here to see more on innovative design trends based on clinical practice experiences.

Webinars

Guidelines for Intensive Care Unit Design

May 1, 2012 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Peer-Reviewed Design Guidelines

Publication: Critical Care Medicine
Publication Reference: 2012 May;40(5):1586-600.
Authors: Dan R. Thompson, MD, MA, FACP, FCCM (Co-Chair); D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA (Co-Chair); Charles D. Cadenhead, FAIA, FACHA, FCCM; Sandra M. Swoboda, RN, MS, FCCM; Stephanie M. Schwindel, MArch, LEED; Diana C. Anderson, MD, MArch; et. al.
View article

Note This document was awarded the following: 2013 Society of Critical Care Medicine Section Award Winner for Published Guidelines.

Abstract

Objective: To develop a guideline to help guide healthcare professionals participate effectively in the design, construction, and occupancy of a new or renovated intensive care unit.

Participants: A group of multidisciplinary professionals, designers, and architects with expertise in critical care, under the direction of the American College of Critical Care Medicine, met over several years, reviewed the available literature, and collated their expert opinions on recommendations for the optimal designof an intensive care unit.

Scope: The design of a new or renovated intensive care unit is frequently a once- or twice-in-a-lifetime occurrence for most critical care professionals. Healthcare architects have experience in this process that most healthcare professionals do not. While there are regulatory documents, such as the Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities, these represent minimal guidelines. The intent was to develop recommendations for a more optimal approach for a healing environment.

Data Sources and Synthesis: Relevant literature was accessed and reviewed, and expert opinion was sought from the committee members and outside experts. Evidence-based architecture is just in its beginning, which made the grading of literature difficult, and so it was not attempted. The previous designs of the winners of the American Institute of Architects, American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and Society of Critical Care Medicine Intensive Care Unit Design Award were used as a reference. Collaboratively and meeting repeatedly, both in person and by teleconference, the task force met to construct these recommendations.

Conclusions: Recommendations for the design of intensive care units, expanding on regulatory guidelines and providing the best possible healing environment, and an efficient and cost-effective workplace.

Key Words: architecture; construction; critical care medicine; design; environment; healing; intensive care unit

Click here to view the 2012 Guidelines for ICU Design.

Peer-Reviewed Design Guidelines

Designing for Multidisciplinary Rounding Practices in the Critical Care Setting

April 1, 2011 / Dochitect / Design for Clinical Staff, Design for Critical Care

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Publication: World Health Design
Publication Reference: 2011;4(2):80-85
Authors: Diana C. Anderson, MD, M.Arch, LEED AP, S. Rob Todd, MD, FACS
View article

2011_Cover Rounding is critical to developing integrated care plans, and there is a trend for moving daily rounds from the bedside to conference rooms. This study’s aim was to document staff preferences for the location of rounding practices, and to determine the effect of available space on those preferences.

Read the full study on critical care rounding practices here.

Additional Press:

Note This study, “Staff Preference for Multidisciplinary Rounding Practices in the Critical Care Setting,” was presented at the International Academy for Design & Health: Design & Health 7th World Congress & Exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts; July 8, 2011.

Note This study was presented as a poster presentation at the Society of Critical Care Medicine Annual Congress in Miami, Florida; January 9-13, 2010.

Conference Presentations, Peer-Reviewed Publications

Critical Care Design – Lessons Learned From 16 Years of SCCM Award Winning Designs

March 1, 2009 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Book Chapter

Book Title: Design for Critical Care: An Evidence-Based Approach
Book Authors: D. Kirk Hamilton, Mardelle McCuskey Shepley
Publisher: Oxford, United Kingdom. Architectural Press of Elsevier, 2009
Chapter Title: Critical Care Design – Lessons Learned From 16 Years of SCCM Award Winning Designs
Chapter Authors: Charles D. Cadenhead, FAIA, FACHA, Diana C. Anderson, MD, MArch, LEED AP, Robert G. Uhlenhake, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP

Except: Beginning in 1992, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), and the American Institute of Architects/Academy of Architecture for Health (AIA/AAH), holds an annual SCCM Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Design Competition.

Each year at the SCCM Congress, awards are presented to the medial director and architect of the chosen winning unit. Each of the sponsoring organizations, composed of physicians, nurses and architects, is represented in judging competition entries, leading to the judging of selections by multi-professional perspectives. Over the history of the design competition, an impressive array of critical care units have been identified, all with varying attributes. The richness of information and best-practice examples that these winning designs offer encouraged a review of best-practices design trends. This analysis presents best-practice trends from the SCCM ICU Design Competition winners between 1992-2009.

Link to Purchase Book:

Design for Critical Care Book Chapter

Critical Care Unit Design, The Winners and Future Trends: An Investigative Study

February 1, 2009 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Publication: World Health Design
Publication Reference: 2009;2(3):72-77.
Authors: Charles D. Cadenhead, FAIA, FACHA; Diana C. Anderson, MD, MArch, LEED AP
Read Article

This study compares key trends in the design of the award-winning critical care units over the 17-year history of the annual Society of Critical Care Medicine Intensive Care Unit (ICU) design competition.

Click here for the complete study, including an overview of the identified best-practice critical care design trends.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

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