ICU Design Receives National Acclaim

BY Teri Nagel

The Emory University Hospital neuroscience critical care unit, designed in collaboration with Georgia Tech, has won a national award.

The unit, built around evidence-based design principles, is the winner of the ICU Design Citation Award, which will be presented to Owen Samuels, director of neuroscience critical care at Emory, and Craig Zimring, an environmental psychologist and professor in the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech.

Their team conducted research to determine how attributes of a health care environment can affect not only the patient's outcome but also clinical staff effectiveness and satisfaction for the patients' families.

The patient suites are large enough to include a separate family living area with reclining chairs or pullout sofas to allow family members 24-hour access to the patient and care team. Additionally, every room includes wireless Internet access, a television and a table.

"This recognition is a victory for evidence-based design and a testament to collaborative thinking," said Zimring. "We explored research linking design to quality and safety outcomes; reviewed past prize winners of Society of Critical Care of Medicine Design competitions for exemplary models; and interviewed Emory health care professionals, patients and families to improve conditions through design. This process is unusual in that it sets specific measurable goals for each design driver."

The award is co-sponsored by the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the American Institute of Architects' Academy on Architecture for Health. A panel of physicians, nurses and architects judged the entries.

"We believe this is one of the premier centers for neuroscience care in the country," said Samuels. "The entire design of the new unit was created in order to make the patient and family top of mind and central to the entire unit's mission.

"There is a large body of current research that links the quality of a health care facility's physical environment to both patient outcomes and staff efficiency. The plans for the unit incorporate core principles of evidence-based, patient- and family-centered design — a holistic approach that focuses on the patient's physical environment as a tool to facilitate healing," Samuels said.

Nurse station alcoves provide a direct line of sight for all patients and minimize the transfer of charting noise, while increasing patient and staff comfort and quick access to information and telecommunications. The unit also combines the ultimate in medical technology and incorporates many home-like features for patient family members — including showers, a kitchen and laundry facilities.