The Center for Health Design Blog

Lessons from Dr. Carson: Be Nice

I heard a really good speaker the other day at the ACHE conference in Chicago. Neurosurgeon Ben Carson spoke about growing up as a poor black child in Detroit; how his mother inspired him to learn; his failures and ultimate successes in separating Siamese twins who’d been joined at the head; and how he’s promoting education and leadership skills among today’s youth through a scholarship fund.

This guy’s story is so good, they even made a movie about him starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

Other than being an inspirational speaker, Dr. Carson didn’t connect much of what he said to the audience of mostly healthcare executives. He could have told some stories about his experiences with administration or made some comments about our country’s healthcare system. But, as a luncheon speaker, maybe his role was simply to entertain and motivate.

The one thing that he said that has stuck with me is that he told us to be nice to people — for a whole week. We tend to get so caught up in our own struggles that we forget that everyone else is struggling, too.

And usually, if you’re nice to people, they are nice back. The woman behind the airline counter whose been there since 5 a.m. The taxi driver who’s trying to lose weight. The person sitting next to you on the plane. The waiter who’s serving you lunch. Your spouse. The people you work with (even the ones you don’t like).

You get the idea. Try it. Be nice. For at least a whole week.

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Healthcare Grabs the Spotlight at NeoCon

The focus of NeoCon, the annual contract furniture exhibition happening this week at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago has always been office furniture and furnishings, but in recent years healthcare has grabbed some of the spotlight.

Steelcase raised the bar a few years ago when it launched Nurture and opened a dedicated showroom in The Mart to display its new line of healthcare products. This year Herman Miller finally took healthcare out of the corner of its expansive third floor showroom and showcased its Brandrud, Nemschoff, and Herman Miller lines in a separate showroom on the same floor.

KI has substantial space in its 11th floor showroom for its healthcare products and Carolina was front and center in OFS Brands redesigned showroom on the same floor. Spec opened its first Mart showroom this year — also on the 11th floor.

Flooring companies such as The Mohawk Group, Tandus, Interface/Flor, and Mannington have always had showrooms in The Mart, and for NeoCon, they don’t necessarily separate out their healthcare product lines. But if you walk in the showroom and ask about healthcare, you can be sure there is someone there to talk about it and show you the goods.

Finally, The Mart management made a smart decision this year by putting all the temporary healthcare product exhibitors into one “Healthcare Pavilion” on the 8th floor. Before, you’d have to make your way through the endless corridors of the 7th and 8th floor to find them. It makes a lot of sense for them to be all together.

More to come on notable products seen at NeoCon.

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ENVIRONMENTS FOR AGING.10 ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Concord, CA (January 7, 2010) – The Center for Health Design and Vendome Group, publisher of Long-Term Living magazine, announce the 2010 Environments for Aging Scholarship Program. Each scholarship is designed to assist those who are unable to afford to attend the conference, by providing them with assistance in covering the conference registration fees.

“As part of our community outreach program, the Environments for Aging.10 Scholarship Program provides an opportunity for those who cannot afford the full registration fee a chance to attend the conference. We have worked very closely with our partner, The Center for Health Design, as well as the American Institute of Architects – Designs for Aging Knowledge Community (AIA DFA), the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and the Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments (SAGE) to build a cutting-edge, all-encompassing agenda. Our goal in providing the scholarships is to expand our audience, in an effort to further the conversations about how to develop practical, affordable, and functional living environments for our aging population,” said Eric Woods, V.P. and Managing Director of Vendome Group.

“Our hope is that the EFA.10 scholarship money will enable both young and seasoned professionals—who would be otherwise unable—to attend. In bringing together newcomers and veterans alike, our goal is to push the boundaries of the conversation and assist in furthering their knowledge and impact they will have on the long-term care industry. With money and budgets being so tight, it is our duty to do whatever is in our power to ensure that we contribute to furthering the education of all industry professionals,” says Woods.

In 2009, the Environments for Aging Conference attracted more than 40 exhibiting companies and 300 attendees. This year, the conference will be held at the Hotel Del Coronado, in San Diego, California, on March 20 – 23.

Visit www.EFA10.com for more information. Apply for this scholarship.

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About EFA.10
Environments for Aging is a comprehensive three-day experience, during which attendees and presenters will explore and share new ideas for creating attractive and functional living environments that meet the unique needs of our aging population. Attendees will share common goals and innovations as well as building, architecture, and design best practices. EFA.10 will provide inspiration through a gathering of like-minded, forward-thinking individuals who have a vision for the future, and who will be instrumental in shaping it.

About The Center for Health Design
The Center for Health Design (CHD), formed in 1993, is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization of forward-thinking healthcare, elder care, design, and construction professionals and product manufacturers who are leading the quest to improve the quality of healthcare facilities and create new environments for healthy aging. Its voluntary board of directors guides the work of paid staff that manages and directs the organization’s research, education, outreach, and advocacy efforts. For more information, visit www.healthdesign.org.

About Vendome Group, LLC
Founded in July 2004, Vendome Group is led by seasoned publishing executives with the passion and drive to achieve Vendome’s mission of serving as one of the most trusted sources of information for business executives and professionals in the healthcare, real estate, chemical, and construction industries. Vendome provides critical information products designed to improve the efficiency and productivity of its business and professional customers. This information is disseminated in print and online products, including magazines, conferences and seminars, newsletters, databases, webinars, and research reports. Vendome Group is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Cleveland, Dallas, and New Hampshire.
www.vendomegrp.com.

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Technology + Health Design = Innovative Care

The left column of today’s Wall Street Journal Tech headlines were flooded with cuts, slashes and layoffs. Even Lipstick Jungle‘s billionaire Joe Bennett (played by the timeless, clean-cut, Andrew McCarthy) felt the impact of Wall Street in the series final episodes. Clearly, it’s hard for anyone to ignore the economy’s current state, and we’re waiting for an answer.

The corporate world is also desperately scrambling to grasp onto something stable floating in the tumult “ the common buzzword is ‘healthcare’. President-elect Obama’s attention is on healthcare, and he’s already making good on his reform promise of finding ways to make it more affordable and accessible. His transition team is thrusting the innovation needle forward for upgraded resources that will improve healthcare delivery. Quite a huge undertaking but a very smart one, because innovation ultimately helps everyone’s bottom line.

The economic stimulus package that House Democratic leaders announced today proposes $20 billion to be carved out for healthcare information technology. Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, D.C. think tank, and an advisor to Obama’s transition team tells the WSJ, There’s an awful lot of investment in there that will be very good for the tech industry. I like what I’m hearing, Mr. Atkinson.

So lets help Obama move that needle together.

While your company may be impacted by the cuts, slashes and layoffs, now is certainly not the time to cut back on innovation. To all you trendsetting technology and building design companies, listen up – the president is telling us that healthcare is where it’s at!

In June The Center and Vendome will host X3 Summit, an executive level conference that brings together leaders in technology, clinical care and healthcare design. X3 Summit is an invitation only event. Innovative thinkers are encouraged to apply.

(BTW, Mr. Atkinson, your invitation is in the mail.)

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HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference

Greetings from our annual conference, HEALTHCARE DESIGN, at the Gayord Texan resort in Dallas. I’m here with about 3,100 other healthcare and design professionals, product manufacturers and other vendors, students, educators, and consultants allied to the field. It’s our biggest conference ever, which is a testament to the growth of the healthcare design industry, and our collective efforts to advance the field of evidence-based design. Thanks to our conference partners, Vendome Group and the AIA Committee on Architecture for Health, for helping to make this happen.

Last night, I had the pleasure of interviewing CHD board member and interior designer Jain Malkin in front of about 120 attendees at the IIDA fundraising dinner. Actually, it really wasn’t an interview, because all I did was just ask her one question (“How did you get your start in healthcare design?”) and she launched into this amazing, highly amusing 30-minute tale of her early beginnings in the field.

For those of you who don’t know Jain, she is probably the “godmother” of healthcare interior design. Her projects have set the standards and won awards and been published everywhere. She has written three books, one of which is the “bible” for design students looking to get into this field. She speaks everywhere and is constantly absorbing new information and sharing it with others. She is a larger than life personality who is curious about everything, a perfectionist (in a good way), and incredibly passionate about healthcare.

The amazing thing about Jain is that she is a self taught designer. Her degree — from the University of Wisconsin — was in psychology. Needing money and not sure what to do, on a whim, she applied for a design job at Flad & Associats in Madison, and got it, despite the fact that she knew nothing about how to be a designer. She also worked for an office furniture dealer in Minneapolis, and then for her brother’s architectural firm in LaJolla, CA (which did medical space planning).

Before starting her own healthcare design firm, she spent a year going around to hospitals and observing what went on in them — material that eventually became the basis for her first book on medical and dental space planning. Of course, I have left out all the bizzare anecdotes that Jain told which had us all laughing out loud (If she lets us share the tape with you, we will), but you get the idea.

I am truly fortunate to have known Jain for almost 20 years and encourage you to go hear her speak if you ever get the chance. Her latest book, A Visual Reference to Evidence-Based Design (which is being published by The Center for Health Design with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will be out in January 2008.

Read Natalie Zensius’s blog post on Jain’s book.

Read a review of Keynote Speaker Don Norman’s opening address.

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IHI’s National Forum

I got a brochure the other day about the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) National Quality Forum, December 9-12 in Orlando, FL. This is IHI’s big annual conference that is attended by 5,000+ healthcare professionals.

I attended the National Forum last year and found it extremely valuable. Although some of the sessions were too “hands-on” for me (not being a healthcare clinician or manager), the keynote speakers were top-notch and the networking outstanding.

The Center is working with IHI to imbed some of our research and thinking about how the environment impacts safety into its materials and information. Most likely, there will be some sessions on the built environment at the IHI National Forum, but the focus is mostly on improving clinical excellence and process.

For more information on the Forum, go to www.ihi.org. Maybe I’ll see you there!

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Environments for Aging

Last week, I attended our first ENVIRONMENTS FOR AGING conference where AARP CEO Bill Novelli gave a fascinating talk on some of the aging issues AARP has identified. AARP has 35 million members worldwide. That is an astounding and powerful constituency.

Among other things, Bill told us that those of us 78 million Baby Boomers who reach age 75 will live another 12 years on average. Get ready — the “senior boom” is going to shape the 2010s, 2020s, and 2030s.

He told us that losing independence and mobility are the biggest fears of getting old and that keeping engaged in civic and social life is key to staying active. And no surprise — AARP surveyed its members and found that the majority of people want to age in place; as we all know, this has big implications for facility design.

Does that mean that people want to age in their current homes and that they need to be renovated to accommodate the physical changes that come with aging? For some, maybe. I can’t see myself reaching the active old age of 87 in the home I’m currently living in. And I can’t see myself living in one of today’s continuing care retirement communities — even some of the upscale ones that are winning our design awards. The current generation of those over 75 is much different than mine will be.

And, as Bill pointed out, transportation is a big issue. For people to age in place and stay active in their communities, they have to be able to get around. For anyone who is interested in this topic, I urge to you read AARP’s report, Stranded Without Options.

AARP definitely has a social impact agenda in this area, and hopefully, we will continue to keep them engaged in this discussion as we explore new environments for aging.

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Notes from the Joint Commission Conference

I just returned from the Joint Commission “Hospital of the Future” conference in Orlando. CHD board members Ian Morrison, Ann Hendrich, Roger Ulrich, and Craig Zimring all spoke.

Roger Ulrich and Craig Zimring did a good job presenting the benefits of using evidence-based design to this audience of mostly healthcare managers and administrators. They spoke about CHD’s Pebble Project research and drew from the literature survey they conducted for CHD almost three years ago (the RWJF funded report), which they are currently updating.

Among other things, Ian described a typical hospital experience as “islands of excellence surrounded by the department of motor vehicles.” He also said that the “average baby boomer has $50,000 in assets. We’re all going to be limo drivers in Boca Raton someday.”

And, some of you have heard him talk about how hospitals are like MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” (PMR) show where they take beater cars and “trick” them out with cool interiors, blow-your-ears-off sound systems, super cool paint jobs, and huge chrome tire rims that go backwards while you’re going forwards (how do they do that?). The trouble is, they PMR homeboys never do anything to the chassis, so you have beautiful cars that will eventually break down again. He used this as a metaphor to describe how we’re designing many hospitals these days.

I also heard a fascinating talk on “medical tourism,” or “medical outsourcing,” as the industry prefers to call it. While it doesn’t seem like this will make much of a dent in the huge U.S. healthcare industry, it is becoming a viable option for the underinsured who can’t afford to pay for costly medical procedures in the U.S. Imagine paying just $5,000 for a hip replacement. It is happening in Thailand. Oversees hospitals that cater to that industry seem to be paying attention to the design of the built environment to attract patients and retain staff.

And, Uwe Rinehardt, the Princeton healthcare economist who is truly an industry guru, said this about investing in better building design: “I’m always astounded by how cheap it is to make a hospital attractive. People should have good experiences in your hospital. These things do seem to matter to attract revenue.” He also said that future labor shortages will mean create a need for “wireless long-term care,” in which hospitals become hubs of wireless, home-based, long-term care management.

Finally, in a review of a recent research project she did with Marilyn Chow of Kaiser, Ann Hendrich told us that “poor work processes will trump good design any day.” But she did acknowledge that physical design, work processes, and technology all need to be integrated for things to change.

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