The research that’s making women’s and children’s hospitals better, safer spaces

A robust Child Life program at MUSC also proactively encourages well-being through play, education, and support. Trained specialists work closely with patients to help them understand their treatment to support developmental progress and promote emotional wellness. This occurs at the bedside, playrooms, and “The Atrium”—a roof garden with age-appropriate play areas and plenty of daylight. Here, play and activities provide a sense of place for kids of all age groups and across the spectrum.

“Throughout the process, we worked in close collaboration with families and caregivers to gain valuable insights that helped inform the design solutions,” says Carolyn BaRoss, our Global Healthcare Interior Design Director. “Pediatric care includes patients from infants to young adults, so we created an environment to provide delight for people of all ages. Maximizing access to nature and enhancing interior beauty through the use of original artwork may bring joyful distractions to children and their families at stressful times.

At Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, California (in collaboration with executive architect Hammel, Green and Abrahamson), a series of patient and staff terraces on each nursing unit provide outdoor respite for patients, families, and caregivers. In addition, two major gardens are immediately adjacent to surgery waiting/intake rooms and at the heart of a family amenity floor that is shared by both the women’s and pediatric programs. In addition, a staff garden near the Staff Entrance allows caregivers to privately experience the outdoors.

At Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC), the only exclusive provider of pediatric care in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the Bunny Mellon Healing Garden similarly creates a revitalizing outdoor space where young patients can safely enjoy nature. The rooftop garden offers trees, flowers, and a variety of plants for patients to find respite outside the hospital.

Focusing on the Patient and Family Experience Yields Innovative Care Models

Women’s services, long a part of adult academic medical centers, are increasingly included with children’s hospitals. In fact, care for neonates represents a large percentage of pediatric volumes and fetal surgery is gaining momentum. As these populations collocate, women’s and children’s hospitals are incorporating new models of bedded care in response to the unique needs of mother/baby care. Increasingly, couplet-care models are becoming more common, which allow a mother and/or baby who require extra care to room together for an extended period of time. Studies have shown that couplet-care rooms help promote family bonding and can also increase confidence and competence in mothers to care for their newborn(s).

The Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion at MUSC is among the facilities in the U.S. to offer couplet-care rooms. Here, the Women’s Pavilion is strategically collocated with the Children’s program to create a safe place for expectant mothers.  Both the mother and newborn are treated by the same dedicated nursing team. The design for these rooms cultivates a calm and nurturing environment necessary for women who have high-risk deliveries or babies that require complex care. The facility seamlessly integrates children’s care and obstetrical services to enhance safety and improve outcomes in high-risk pregnancies. “While the proximity to pediatric care is medically advantageous, we also made sure the mothers would feel as though the space was designed for them and their needs,” says Tanabe.

Family involvement is also a part of the recovery process. These private NICU rooms include comfortable sleeping accommodations, a lounge, and a private, peaceful roof terrace to support families who may spend months in the hospital. “When designing the MUSC bed units, we worked to eliminate elements that contribute to the feeling of institutional space, and instead looked to simplify lighting geometry and effect, and applied interior details to recall a more residential experience,” explains BaRoss.

Virginia Mason Medical Center made a strategic decision to provide women’s childbirth services on their main adult Seattle campus for the first time in over twenty years. As part of this strategy, they decided to partner with CHI-Franciscan to open the Virginia Mason Birth Center.

Hospital leadership and clinicians aspired to a more innovative delivery care model and committed to providing NICLET care. This model has never before been offered in Washington State and is unique from couplet-care models. NICLET rooms allow critical-care infants to stay with mom in the postpartum room instead of recovering in a separate NICU. “I think the remarkable thing is that this unit wasn’t designed to market to high-risk moms or babies,” says Senior Medical Planner Marie Henson. “Virginia Mason is marketed as a boutique, patient-centered birth experience. But through the design and planning process, the concept of not separating mom and baby became a priority, even if the baby has some NICU needs.”

Through a Lean Design process that consisted of multiple rounds of Integrated Design Events our design team was able to bring together administrations, clinicians, and staff from both health organizations to develop a design that represents their desire to offer a boutique birthing experience utilizing this new model of care. “Increasing attention to the unique needs of the birth experience and infant care, combined with the heightening understanding of the role of the built environment in care delivery, the NICLET model emerged as a new design solution that provided the highest level of patient satisfaction and care for mother and baby,” says Medical Planner Ryan Ramsey.

Prioritizing Health Through Sustainable and Resilient Design Strategies

Due to rising rates of asthma, obesity, and diabetes in children—alongside cancer and heart disease—prevention initiatives that focus on linking health and well-being are a prime concern for children’s hospitals. Pediatrician and young people’s concern about climate change and environmental health issues translate into sustainable design strategies.  In fact, children’s hospitals account for 50% of the LEED Platinum hospital cohort. These hospitals have prioritized healthy materials, reduced fossil fuel emissions, improved indoor air quality and acoustics as part of their commitment to health.

The LEED-Platinum Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, in particular, uses displacement ventilation systems in inpatient units and public spaces to reduce energy demand by 45% and system noise, while also enhancing indoor air quality. A system of underground cisterns captures rainwater and recycles building condensate to irrigate the extensive gardens. Furthermore, a focus on healthy materials reduces the toxicity of indoor environments. “Sustainability is woven through the children’s experience, from the live building performance dashboard to the gardens and art program,” says project architect Megan Koehler.

Charleston, South Carolina faces significant challenges of sea level rise and MUSC has integrated design measures, including elevated infrastructure and flood barriers, for enhanced resilience during and following extreme weather events. “Maintaining access to the ED and critical hospital functions during flood events was a design imperative; the Emergency Department is on the second floor,” says Managing Principal Jim Bynum.