|
Cancer
Centers:
A
Look at Environmental Issues and Patient Needs
J. Mark Smith, MBA,
Assoc. AIA
Vice President, Easter & Mason Healthcare Consulting Corporation
Nashville
This study reviews
the current trends to "humanize" the cancer center, and it also explores
the physical design and maintenance issues. The healthcare environment
affects how the patient reacts to treatment. Sufficient evidence indicates
that stress inhibits the patient's capacity to be cured, while positive
visualization enhances treatment.
Stress may be subliminal
to the patient, a product of unspoken cues that create anxiety.
The staff may be conditioned
to create stress for the patient by mirroring these environmental cues.
The design of the patient-friendly
cancer center goes deeper than the mere "fish tank in the soft-textured
waiting room." The comprehensive cancer center is unique because of
"the diverse nature of programmatic areas integrated into one facility."
Different programs
should not be required to compete for the same space. This issue relates
to competition between patient needs and the layout and proximities
of programs and their respective departments. The large facility should
be patient oriented but, unfortunately, physical contingencies can interfere
with the comfort and the dignity of the patient. Major problems include
the comingling of old and new buildings' utilities and air space. Patient
operations can interfere with patient comfort when multidisciplinary
treatments are involved. "One-stop shopping" for the patient is encouraged,
but achievement of this objective requires workflow changes and departmental
relocations.
The article offers
solutions to these and several other issues.
|