Taylor Design

Taylor Design is a strategy-based design firm with practices in Architectural Design, Interior Design and Design Strategy; with offices in northern and southern California.

Contact

Email: connect@wearetaylor.com
Tel: +1 949 574 1325

Tech Talk: Creating Comfort in Patient Care: Takeaways from Bisnow’s SoCal Summit

In late October, I had the privilege of discussing The Prioritization of Patient Care with a diverse and thoughtful group of panelists at the Bisnow Southern California Healthcare Real Estate Summit. During the conversation the panel touched upon many ways that we, as an industry, can reinforce patient care and improve the overall outcomes. Two particular ideas that emerged in our discussion– and that are already impacting how I work as a healthcare designer – were the importance and benefits of:

1. Creating a consistent and memorable physical experience that aligns with the healthcare provider’s established brand; and,
2. Infusing healthcare spaces with the comforts – and some of the autonomy – of home.

The Importance of Consistent Branding in Healthcare Design to Support Healing and Improve Patient Experience

In healthcare, many users’ first experience starts with an introduction to a hospital’s digital brand. This might be television commercials, billboards along the freeway, downloading an app or receiving brochures in the mail. Yet, many healthcare providers struggle to translate their marketing brand into a beneficial aspect of the environment that patients, visitors and staff encounter in their facilities. It is becoming increasingly important to understand how these two elements need to work together to form a consistent, familiar and reassuring experience.

One of the services that designers can provide to their clients is to articulate and align a healthcare system’s brand identity across all facilities. Consistency in branding not only enhances the patient experience, it can also improve operational efficiency. When clear design standards are driven by a coherent, powerful brand identity, organizations save time and money by streamlining procurement and design processes, while also delivering a comfortable and familiar environment for all stakeholders.

One of our inspiring clients is a local Children’s Hospital, and the organization uses a colorful drawing of a butterfly for their logo, which is proudly displayed across all marketing platforms. What most community and staff members don’t know is its actual meaning – it’s a beautiful story that celebrates transformation. With our discovery of this story, we found it best to celebrate and share this concept in design. For example, by having it greet patients at the reception desk, and then interact with wayfinding touchpoints along a patient and caretaker journey as they navigate throughout campus. Integrating this story with the physical space reinforces the Hospital’s message, offering a moment of play along an otherwise serious journey. Ultimately, a well-articulated and consistent environmental brand reassures patients, reduces stress and lets healthcare providers focus on what matters most: quality care.

Infusing Healthcare Spaces with Comforts of Home

Another subject we discussed was boosting patient and caretaker autonomy by incorporating some comforts of home into the healthcare environment. The panelists all agreed that while the concept of Hospital at Home was very relevant and coming to the market at a rapid speed, there will be some time before it is a commonly used solution. In the interim, we can consider adjustments in the hospital setting to fuse these two drastically different environments together.

Thoughtful design that integrates familiar and reassuring elements can significantly improve the patient and family experience. One example of this is our upcoming solution that infuses comforts of home into a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In collaboration with the hospital’s facility department, we suggested introducing elements from a home-based nursery into the NICU unit to help ease the disappointment and anxiety of parents who had expected to be bringing their baby to a special place at home, but who instead must remain at the hospital as their baby receives additional care. These playful elements, such as clouds on the ceiling and whimsical lighting, provide moments of play and hope for the parents to hold onto while they go endure an emotional roller coaster. Our goal is to reduce their trauma by incorporating elements of the experience they imagined into the reality of their situation.

Further elements from home include thoughtful features such as displays for family photos, dedicated shelves for personal items and adjustable lighting, which provide anxious parents with a sense of control and normalcy during stressful times. Home-like elements can extend to programmatic design as well. Offering patients and their visitors a selection of family lounges, consultation spaces and quiet areas can increase their sense of choice and comfort. These spaces serve as vital sanctuaries for patients, families and staff alike.

Many other important topics were addressed at the daylong summit. One worth noting is the consensus we reached about the importance of design that prioritizes the well-being of frontline healthcare providers and staff. As retention continues to challenge the industry, amenities that support work-life balance, family-friendly spaces and stress-reducing environments are more important than ever to offer staff on a daily basis.

I truly appreciated the opportunity to participate in this event and to hear the deeply meaningful perspectives of my fellow panelists: Paul Da Veiga (UCI Health), Dana Crompton (Kaiser Permanente Medical Group), Gizelle Paz (Providence), Chris Grossnicklaus (Corgan), and Jason Groshart (Bernards), led by moderator Timothy Reimers (Sheppard Mullin).

 

With over 13 years of experience as an Interior Designer and Project Director,
Jamison Delfino, NCIDQ, CHID, is passionate about connecting to people through design.