Managing Maintenance
By Phil Giuntoli
Costs anything but routine
Appearance matters. In healthcare, people often form judgments based on the cleanliness of the facility. Obviously, cost matters too. Healthcare providers want to operate clean, well-maintained facilities, and they want to limit what they spend to keep chairs stain-free, carpets looking fresh and light bulbs working, especially in this economy. Additionally, the less the furniture, flooring and fixtures cost to purchase and install, the better. Despite the initial cost concerns, maintenance is seldom the focal point of a design discussion, even if it is an important consideration. Energy use, green design and sustainability have received a lot of attention, but maintenance issues go far beyond compact fluorescent light bulbs. Cost, functionality and facility presentation all are factors to be addressed...
Battery Bye-Bye
By Carl Smith
Creating more sustainable facilities through e-waste management
Because of their size and sophistication, hospitals inherently consume a significant amount of energy and generate an abundance of waste — approximately 6,600 tons per day. Concern over a hospital’s environmental impact has stimulated a growing movement to decrease the ecological footprint of these facilities. Facility managers and environmental decision makers have pursued several strategies including green building design, energy efficiency improvements, water conservation and recycling. An emerging environmental strategy for hospitals is the proper handling of electronic waste, or e-waste. The amount of e-waste in the United States is on the rise, placing heightened attention on how it can be disposed of in a way that is best for the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, e-waste accounts for nearly 2 percent of the municipal solid waste stream. E-waste may contain heavy metals such as cadmium, zinc and mercury that can harm human health...
Healing By Design
By Karen McCoy and Jerry Smith
OhioHealth’s Dublin Methodist Hospital is redefining patient care with an innovative design that promotes relaxation and faster recovery times. With a challenge to create a truly unique, patient-centered hospital, award-winning landscape architecture firm MSI Design became part of an interdisciplinary collaborative team that included architects, engineers, interior designers, consumer research professionals and hospital executive staff. This team was responsible for building the project from the ground up with the intent of improving patient well-being through design, attracting patients, enhancing operational efficiency, creating a safe environment, recruiting and retaining staff, and increasing philanthropic, community and corporate support.
