Healthcare Design Trends to Watch

Healthcare Design can bring a community together and create a space where patients and their families feel welcome. Below are some of the major trends to watch in healthcare design and the reasons why these healthcare design trends are important. The things listed below are important aspects of healthcare design as they are the reasons, we make the choices and designs. The patients and the people who are working in the healthcare system now more than ever are an important piece to making the community and the company run efficiently. If you lose your employees to remote working or lack of support, then you can’t see as many patients. If you can’t see as many patients, they will have to go farther from home to get treated, this can be detrimental to their recovery. You can read the full article here.

Addressing Staff Through Healthcare Design

Staffing shortages, remote work, burn out and the “great resignation” has shined a spotlight on workplace environments and culture in an unprecedented way. The importance of providing energized workspaces where people are drawn to connect and collaborate with their coworkers, as well as effective space for focused, heads downtime is an added challenge. Design elements such as circulation pathways, visual intrigue and engagement, and a variety of spaces, both indoors and out, help to create human-centered environments that foster innovation and collaboration. (Source)

Caring for the employees through respite spaces, in-house counseling, and using lean design concepts to maintain effective staffing ratios are sound strategies, in addition to biophilic and wellness-focused design, that can reduce fatigue and burnout, increasing attractiveness for hospitals competing for employees. (Source)

On Time and On Budget Designs

Delivering projects on time and on budget requires dedication, precise coordination, teamwork, and foresight during the lifecycle of a typical design and construction project.

As a response to the ever-shifting pandemic landscape, we find that staying in constant communication with our clients during this unique period in history is crucial to delivering a successful project. (Source)

Advancing Assisted Living Environments

Across the country, there is a severe shortage of affordable assisted living facilities. This shortage contributes to a bottleneck in the delivery of care, often resulting in longer patient stays in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and nursing homes.

Research has shown that connecting people to nature within the built environments leads to better outcomes, thus incorporating biophilic design is becoming a best practice. The siting and building design should maximize views of nature and the outside world. Incorporating more windows creates an indoor/outdoor connection and provides natural light. Dimmable lighting can mimic circadian rhythms, and natural materials and finishes reinforce the biophilic design. Incorporating renewable energy and high-efficiency fixtures also help to lower operating costs and environmental impacts. (Source)

Some more articles like this are Today’s Top Healthcare Design Trends, Healthcare Design Trends to Watch for in the New Decade, and Interior Designs With Health Care Workers in Mind

Source: E4H Environments for Health. “A Look Forward: Trends to Watch in Healthcare and Health Science Design.” A LOOK FORWARD: TRENDS TO WATCH IN HEALTHCARE AND HEALTH SCIENCE DESIGN, 10 Mar. 2022, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-look-forward-trends-to-watch-in-healthcare-and-health-science-design-301500302.html.

Marie Wikoff is the creator of Wikoff Design Studio based out of Reno, Nevada. Her expertise in healthcare design has helped modernize healthcare organizations locally, regionally, and internationally, improving patient experience and outcomes. Her credentials include Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification (EDAC), American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designer (CHID), the National Council of Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) and LEED AP. Contact Marie Wikoff