The Design Characteristics Of A Successful Adaptable Inpatient Unit

This study makes a contribution at understanding flexibility at the inpatient unit level. The study used an exploratory design and collected data through semi-structured interviews of stakeholders in nursing, materials management, respiratory services, pharmacy, environmental services and dietary services from six hospitals across the United States. Data was collected over three months in 2006. Content analysis of interview transcripts suggests that adaptability influences more aspects of unit operations than convertibility or expandability. Furthermore, physical design characteristics affect 9 critical operational issues where flexibility is required.

Webinar Learning Objectives

• Understand the role of flexibility in promoting efficiency in patient care.

• Understand what flexibility means from various stakeholders' perspectives on inpatient units.

• Understand characteristics of the physical environment that impede or facilitate flexibility.

• Obtain a deeper understanding of inpatient unit operations, coordination between caregivers, and implications of such factors on the physical design.

Speakers

Tom E. Harvey Jr., HKS, Inc.
	Tom Harvey is the principal in charge of the Clinical Advisory, Research, and Healthcare Operations and Planning Group at HKS, Inc. He has more than 31 years of experience in strategic planning, functional and space programming, master planning and feasibility studies, facility design, and project management for healthcare clients. He has managed the design of acute care projects ranging from 15 to more than 1,000 beds in domestic and international markets including several university teaching hospitals, specialty hospitals, and rural medical centers.
His clients include not-for-profit and public healthcare systems and hospitals as well as physician group practices. He has contributed numerous book chapters on healthcare planning and design, including Building Type Basics for Healthcare Facilities and Encyclopedia of Architecture: Design, Engineering & Construction (Vol. 2), and has presented in prestigious national and international gatherings, such as the International Conference and Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design and Construction, Annual Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo, and AIA National Convention. He is also an adjunct professor of architecture at University of Texas at Arlington, where he teaches a studio on healthcare design.

Debajyoti Pati, PhD, AII, HKS, Inc.
	Debajyoti Pati, PhD, is the director of research at HKS, Inc., a top-five healthcare design firm. He holds a PhD in architecture from Georgia Tech, with concentrations in the areas of architecture, culture and behavior, and building technology. He directs the firm's healthcare operations and planning research, and develops modalities for representing research findings for end use in programming and design for all HKS offices, internationally.
His current work focuses on clinical efficiency, staff well-being, and patient outcomes in acute and critical care environments, spanning several not-for-profit hospitals across the United States. He has a professional degree in architecture in addition to 20 years experience in research, practice, and teaching in the United States, Canada, and India. He has worked on research projects funded by the USGSA, US Courts, AIA, AAHF, Herman Miller, and Getinge USA. Dr Pati is currently a member of the Research Advisory Council of the Center for Health Design, and leads the EBD research group at the Health Environments Research Summit.