Project to Boost Hospital Resilience by Harnessing Real Time Emergency Power System Status Reports

The Professionals in Healthcare Organizations Forum is a platform for the interaction and open discussion between professionals working in healthcare facilities (architects, engineers, biomedical engineers, contractors, facility managers, risk managers etc.) and consultant design professionals. This forum will review with audience participation, some of the administrative and practical issues associated with the delivery and operations of healthcare projects.

Learning Objectives:

1.) An environment to network with colleagues sharing common goals.

2.) The opportunity to discuss through a broad overview the concepts and operations of Project Delivery Methodologies.

3.) Examine relevant case studies to determine common code characteristics for programming and planning hospitals and health care facilities.

4.) Illustrate the tools needed to create code compliant hospitals and health care facilities that meet the business strategy/model for the client.

This presentation explores the unique aspects of the Architectural impacts of Behavioral Health on the hospital environment. The design approach and the specific features of Behavioral Health design in Emergency, Patients Units and other areas in the hospital require specific knowledge and their applicability to patient and staff safety. Also, the Codes and Standards for Behavioral Health Design will be reviewed and their impact on the delivery of patient care to this patient type.

Learning Objectives:

1.) Discuss the codes & standards for Behavioral Health Design in the hospital environment.

2.) Explain the issues related to planning for design and planning for Behavioral Health design.

3.) Examine relevant case studies to determine common code characteristics of Behavioral Health Design.

4.) Illustrate the tools needed to create a code compliant spaces in Emergency, Patient Unit and other areas in the hospital.

Hospitals are feeling pressure to improve the patient experience. ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170 allows various HVAC design alternatives including legacy overhead mixing, displacement ventilation, active chilled beams, and radiant heating and cooling systems. This session compares the performance of each design option and sensible cooling loads for a typical patient room. Insights into the thermal comfort of patients and probable flow of airborne pathogens will be given as well as advice for the selection of appropriate HVAC systems for patient rooms.

Learning Objectives:

1.) Explain the importance of airflow distribution in a patient room.

2.) Explore the impact of HVAC design on thermal comfort of patients.

3.) Discover how HVAC design affects flow path of airborne pathogens.

4.) Compare the performance of various HVAC design alternatives for patient rooms.

Best practices collected from five years of work studying the influence the built environment on patients, families, and caregivers in palliative care settings. This session showcases the voices and experiences of multidisciplinary providers translated into a set of design recommendations. Attendees will have the opportunity to join the conversation to define design standards for palliative care settings, share experiences and perspectives, and provide feedback on developing future palliative care standards for clinical and residential care facilities.

Learning Objectives:

1.) Define the principles of palliative design and its effect on patients, families, and caregivers.

2.) Describe new language being proposed for the 2022 edition of the FGI Guidelines for settings in which palliative care occurs.

3.) Identify the merits of establishing minimum requirements and guidance in the FGI Guidelines for settings in which palliative care and hospice services are delivered.

4.) Apply palliative design principles to current and future projects.

Beyond Fundamentals is a must-have resource providing information about the latest design challenges, best practices, research, and applications of technology in health and residential care. Introduced to bridge the gap in the four-year revision cycle of the Guidelines for Design and Construction documents, FGI’s Beyond Fundamentals resource library enables providers to stay current with trends that affect facility planning and design. Special attention will be focused on the creation of a handbook with diagrams of clear floor areas and clearances.

Learning Objectives:

1.) Use the Beyond Fundamentals resource library to supplement the requirements of the FGI Guidelines documents in current and new projects.

2.) Describe how designers can use materials to discuss new ideas with AHJs regarding new trends and spaces.

3.) List the tools that are currently available in the Beyond Fundamentals library and those in development.

4.) Explain how the latest information is being used to inform future editions of the Guidelines for Design and Construction.

This case study of a redesign of a maximum security mental health hospital examines the use of a human-centered perspective to evaluate care delivery and security. The study includes the intake process; how daylighting, noise, and color can create a de-escalated environment; and the use of phasing to allow operations to continue during construction. By envisioning the whole environment to promote therapy and staff empowerment, the hospital has created a safer environment for better care delivery and patient recovery.

Learning Objective:

1.) Describe a human-centered approach to behavioral/mental health environmental assessment.

2.) Explain the relationship between a therapeutic and safe environment.

3.) Identify environmental elements that can reduce patient stress and adversarial interactions.

4.) Illustrate how phasing and coordination can allow a hospital to maintain operations while improving safety and security.

Tasked by Mercy Health System to reduce the cost of design and construction, shorten the project delivery schedule, and reduce the cost of facility operations, our team turned to technology for intuitive solutions. An advanced operational integrated lifecycle management discovery process identified the current operational workflows and we developed Enhanced Integration, an integrated workflow process. The employees in Mercy’s support departments were able to leverage the model/asset database with an integrated workplace management system to project staggering operational savings.

Learning Objectives:

1.) Leverage innovation technology to better connect project delivery teams during the project lifecycle.

2.) Manage facility data from design and construction through turnover.

3.) Develop workflows that target reduction of effort duplication and increased benefit to all stakeholders.

4.) Recognize process efficiencies to become more effective during the lifecycle of a project.

This session will feature an open discussion about the proposed changes to NFPA 101: Life Safety Code® and NFPA 99: Health Care Facilities Code for the 2021 edition, two important compliance documents for hospital reimbursement. This session will cover the process by which these documents are updated and provide an opportunity to give valuable feedback to ASHE on the proposed changes that impact the design and operations of health care facilities.

Learning Objectives:

1.) Describe the public consensus process and the importance of participation.

2.) Review the proposed changes and their potential impacts on health care design and operations.

3.) Discuss potential alternatives to the changes and compliance strategies.

4.) Review the timelines for potential adoption of these changes.

In addition to complying with the Life Safety Code, building codes, and CMS Conditions of Participation, health care facilities also need to navigate requirements from various accrediting organizations. This session will cover key Joint Commission requirements and ways hospitals can ensure they are in compliance from the start. The speaker will provide design and construction strategies that can position hospitals for successful compliance programs.

Learning Objectives:

1.) Explain how to help clients achieve early compliance by utilizing simple design strategies.

2.) Describe construction methods to keep hospital patients safe during construction.

3.) Discuss the importance of compliance throughout the entire PDC process.

4.) Identify methods of educating building users for transition into newly renovated spaces.