Verified Document

Analyzing Letter To Stakeholders Term Paper

Evidence-Based Design in Healthcare Facility Planning This Letter to Stakeholders aims to help the recipients appreciate the importance of evidence-based design in the planning of Healthcare Facilities.

Dear Sir / Madam

I feel happy to share with you the letter that explains about the upcoming healthcare renovation project. There are a lot of disruptive changes happening in the healthcare landscape and the application of evidence-based design (EBD) is prominent among them. It is essential that we understand the features of the model before taking a final decision. I have put my perspective on why adopting the EBD model for our renovation project is important.

History of Healthcare Facility Design

The original idea that Florence Nightingale had of a hospital was a place that would have abundant fresh air, view of nature and light. This idea sought to substitute deep plan hospitals that rose after World War II which were more concerned about efficiency than the healing of the patients and their comfort. The form of the hospital changed from the style of a pavilion to a totally different style. A configuration of an average hospital turned to a multi-floor block (or platform) that had the patient tower on top of it. This transformation was made possible by building technology that brought the ability to build long span buildings, ventilate the interior spaces through mechanical means, and introduction of elevators to move people between floors. According to estimates, nurses spent 40% of their time in transporting patients when this topology was at its peak (Burpee, 2008).

Current Approaches

Hospitals and Clinics in Canada and many countries in Europe do not offer private rooms to patients. The contrasts between a ward in a hospital and a private room have been described in a rather interesting manner on the website of The British National Health Services (NHS). Evidence shows many patients would prefer a private room. However, this is quite hard unless the patients pay for a private room. There are some obvious advantages of staying in a private room such as privacy, reduced noise, and a lower risk of contracting nosocomial infections. Interestingly, there are some notable disadvantages of a private room for a patient (Gormley, 2010). They include:

• The patient...

Plausibly, Evidence-based design arises from this realization. According to the founding principal of Houston's Watkins Hamilton Ross Architects, D. Kirk Hamilton, also an associate professor at the Center for Health Systems and Design in Texas A&M University, a well-designed environment is an important constituent of the patient care system. There is an increasing number of designers, facility executives and architects who are diligently analyzing how the facilities influence the outcome of patients under the concept of evidence-based design. Hamilton states that Evidence-based design is the result of an architect who is thinking critically, working closely with well-informed clients. Such an approach uses concrete evidence from studies to make interpretations on design.
Currently, experts are concentrating on the studies on the effects of the nature of facilities. These include issues such as the location of bathrooms and sinks, decor, as well as overhead pages. Statistical data, such as the rate at which patients acquire illnesses while they are admitted in hospitals, or the number of errors associated with medication, and the duration of patients stay in hospital are used to measure the effects. If these measures are improved, there will be an overall enhancement in the well-being of patients (Kroll, 2005).

Although "evidence-based design" equates with formal research generally, there are many other ways in which "evidence" occurs. These ways include in-house institutional research, professional experience, best practice, and informal benchmarking. The information acquired through the different means is then sieved by different people in different ways. These people are entrusted with the processes of planning, managing, funding, designing, and even those who use the facility: they include the planners, architects, management, government organizations responsible for…

Sources used in this document:
References

Burpee, Heather (2008). 'History of Healthcare Architecture'. Integrated Design lab Puget Sound.

Gormley, Tom (2010). 'The History of Hospitals and Wards'. Healthcare Design. Extracted from http://www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com

Kroll, Karen (2005). 'Evidence-based design in Healthcare facilities'. Building Operating Management. Extracted from http://www.facilitiesnet.com/

Becker, Franklin and Kelley S. Parsons (2007). 'Hospital Facilities and the role of evidence-based design'. Journal of Facilities Management Vol. 5 No. 4, 2007 pp. 263-274
Malmquist, Derek (2014). 'Improving Patient Outcomes and the Bottom-line with Evidence-Based Design'. Healthcare Facilities Today. Extracted from http://www.healthcarefacilitiestoday.com/
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Analyzing the Business Proposal
Words: 2226 Length: 5 Document Type:

Business Proposal Evaluation of Alternatives Document management is an important issue that organizations are not putting great emphasis on these days. With the growing inevitable need for globalization, where large amounts of data and documents have to be handled, there is an increasing need for document handling and management. The documents may include product or business plans, meetings or brainstorming sessions, etc., but these papers lose their value if not handled carefully,

Challenge of Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger...
Words: 23212 Length: 80 Document Type: Term Paper

Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger Process Review of the Relevant Literature Types of Mergers Identifying All Stakeholders in a Given Business Strategic Market Factors Driving Merger Activity Selection Process for Merger Candidates Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations The Challenge of Managing All Stakeholders in the Context of a Merger Process Mergers and acquisitions became central features of organizational life in the last part of the 20th century, particularly as organizations seek to establish and

Memorandum to a Decision-Maker on How to Reform Corporate Ethics...
Words: 1804 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Ethics and CSR President Barack Obama White House Dear Mr. President: First, let me congratulate you on your recent stance regarding both the U.S. Budget and your healthcare package. Indeed, both of these issues speak to the reason for my letter today. In general, I am concerned that the 21st century, while certainly improving organizational opportunities at home and abroad through technology and globalization, have not been as robust within the area of business

Corporate Annual Report Communicate Stockholders Interested Parties...
Words: 862 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

corporate annual report communicate stockholders interested parties financial statements. The annual report a summary corporation's operations previous 12-month time period states corporation's plans future. The Wal-Mart Stores 2012 Annual Report Wal-Mart's annual report, like the annual reports of most economic agents, can be found on their website, under the section designed for investors. This placement of the annual report is indicative of its financial importance and its role as a source

Ethics of Plant Relocation to 3rd World
Words: 1908 Length: 4 Document Type: Case Study

Ethical Dilemma and Corporate Responsibility Board of Directors RE: Response to Ethical dilemma created by the relocation program I am writing this memo to inform the directors that this company is faced by an ethical dilemma. The ethical dilemma presented in this report is based on challenges of balancing corporate loyalty and corporate responsibility. This report advises the Project Management office (PMO) on the possibility of applying Workers Adjustment and Retaining Notification (WARN)

Cell Phones for Outside Salesman
Words: 789 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Cell Phones for Outside Salesman Proposal Letter Dear Sir: The objective of this letter is to propose that our pharmaceutical sales team be brought into the twenty first century by becoming equipped with company sponsored cell phones. The initiative will meet the company's high standards of ethics and integrity and would increase our ability to meet the responsibility we have to our customers, their families, our employees, the environment and to the societies

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now