In this unique guide for nurses, Cynthia McCullough shows nurses how to use their knowledge, background and experience to leverage a new and exciting role for themselves in health care facility construction and renovation. In just 237 pages, she outlines how nurses can utilize the same evidence-based practice process they use in providing patient care to plan and design health care-related building projects.
Evidence-Based Design for Healthcare Facilities is an engaging primer on how nursing research, best practices and benchmarking are vital to the creation of patient care environments that are safe, patient- and family-friendly, and “green” by current environmental standards. Using interesting and understandable examples, McCullough demonstrates that evidence-based facility design is an important and growing trend in health care. In collaboration with facility administrators, designers are using research-based evidence to draw up plans for construction and renovation of facilities that are forward-looking and also improve safety and quality, enhance holistic care, provide positive work environments for employees, and even increase reimbursement dollars.
Emphasizing that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for creating healing environments for patients, McCullough provides planners with useful information and helpful checklists that address everything from safety and infection issues to lighting, handrail access, and sinks and commodes. She includes a myriad of issues that need to be considered along the way, including amenities, aesthetics related to furniture and color selection, and even sound-absorbing and noise-reducing products. She also provides tips on obtaining best-practice information that is already “out there”—not only through evidence-based research, but also through visiting facilities, networking with colleagues and attending conferences.
McCullough shares information on specific projects that have been completed in health care facilities in various parts of the United States, from initial planning sessions to challenges faced, lessons learned and future plans. She addresses design standardization as well as adaptability and accessibility in the creation of work-friendly environments, “models of efficiency,” and “visual management” of the workplace. Finally, she shares information on benchmarking against industry standards when making decisions on design and implementation.
Along with McCullough’s practical, experience-based advice, her work is replete with references for further study on each topic. Evidence-Based Design for Healthcare Facilities is a must-read for nurses who are interested in literally shaping and building the future of construction and renovation of health care facilities using experience that is centered on the evidence-based research model! RNL
Eileen P. Williamson, RN, MSN, is vice president, nursing communications and initiatives, New York/New Jersey, for Gannett Healthcare Group.
