Case Study Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWWsSUWWowc
Video Case Study: Laying Out Arnold Palmer Hospital's New Facility with Supplementary Text Attached
When Orlando's Arnold Palmer Hospital began plans to create a new 273-bed, 11-story hospital across the street from its existing facility, which was bursting at the seams in terms of capacity, a massive planning process began. The $100 million building, opened in 2006, was long overdue, according to Executive Director Kathy Swanson: "We started Arnold Palmer Hospital in 1989, with a mission to provide quality services for children and women in a comforting, family-friendly environment. Since then we have served well over 1.5 million women and children and now deliver more than 12,000 babies a year. By 2001, we simply ran out of room, and it was time for us to grow." The new hospital's unique, circular pod design provides a maximally efficient layout in all areas of the hospital, creating a patient-centered environment. Servicescape design features include a serene environment created through the use of warm colors, private rooms with pull-down Murphy beds for family members, 14-foot ceilings, and natural lighting with oversized windows in patient rooms. But these radical new features did not come easily. "This pod concept with a central nursing area and pie-shaped rooms resulted from over 1,000 planning meetings of 35 user groups, extensive motion and time studies, and computer simulations of the daily movements of nurses," says Swanson.In a traditional linear hospital layout, called the racetrack design, patient rooms line long hallways, and a nurse might walk 2.7 miles per day serving patient needs at Arnold Palmer. "Some nurses spent 30% of their time simply walking. With the nursing shortage and the high cost of healthcare professionals, efficiency is a major concern," added Swanson. With the nursing station in the center of 10- or 12-bed circular pods, no patient room is more than 14 feet from a station. The time savings are in the 20% range. Swanson pointed to Figures 9.21 9 and 9.22 0 as examples of the old and new walking and trip distances.Figure 9.21 Traditional Hospital Layout Room Room Room Room Room Room 501 502 503 504 505 506 20' 30' 40 50' 60' 70' Distance Hallway from 30 40 50' nurses' station Break Medical Electrical/ (feet) Nurses' Linens mechanical station room supply room Hallway 20' 30' 40 50' 60 70 Room Room Room Room Room Room 507 508 509 510 511 512 Patient rooms are on two linear hallways with exterior windows. Supply rooms are on interior corridors. This layout is called a "racetrack" design.Figure 9.22 New Pod Design for Hospital Layout Pie-shaped rooms Break and central medical supply rooms Central nursing station for 34 rooms in the 3 pods Local supply for pod's linens Local nursing station pod Note that each room is 14 feet from the pod's local nursing station. The break rooms and the central medical station are each about 60 feet from the local nursing pod. Pod linen supply rooms are also 14 feet from the local nursing station."We have also totally redesigned our neonatal rooms," says Swanson. "In the old system, there were 16 neonatal beds in a large and often noisy rectangular room. The new building features semiprivate rooms for these tiny babies. The rooms are much improved, with added privacy and a quiet, simulated night atmosphere, in addition to pull-down beds for parents to use. Our research shows that babies improve and develop much more quickly with this layout design. Layout and environment indeed impact patient care!"
