Thursday, June 21, 2007

Leaders seek input for new DeWitt design

DeWitt leaders and designers are seeking input from beneficiaries and staff for design features and a theme for the new hospital to be built here by 2011.

Using a process known as evidence-based design, planners held a visioning session with a diverse group of participants earlier this month.

“The fact beneficiaries were included in the mission of helping decide on the design of the new hospital means a lot. I feel with the information provided, we accomplished a great deal,” said retired Air Force Staff Sgt. John Cannady, a Red Cross volunteer who attended the session.

“It’s not about the building. The building is the foundation, but it’s everybody’s involvement,” said Clay Boenecke, chief, capital branch, Tricare Marketing Agency. The team effort involved in the design process represents a golden opportunity, he said.

“What we do today has the ability to impact something that’s going to be at Fort Belvoir for 50 or so years,” said Col. Kenneth G. Canestrini, DeWitt commander. Including beneficiaries is vital to the new hospital’s design concept, he said.

“If this new building is going to have an impact, we have to explain the elements that go into that healing environment. That’s the relationship between processes of care and the actual building,” said Dr. Paul Barach, associate dean for patient safety, University of South Florida.

The concept addresses support of the whole person, Barach explained. Single-patient rooms large enough to accommodate families is one feature to be incorporated into the design, he said. Window placement for optimum sunlight is another feature to be used in the new hospital, he said.

Designing a process to allow for uninterrupted sleep is another consideration, he said. “Few of us sleep well while in a hospital.” Administering medications and checking on patients through the night disturbs them, he said. Barach said care givers should focus on minimizing those disruptions.

Patient considerations are not the only concepts involved. The process also involves staff amenities, he said. Designers should include ergonomic furniture, proper lighting and a floor plan that includes adjacencies of clinics allowing for staff efficiency, he said.

Participants in the visioning session also proposed a number of possible themes for consideration by designers. Common elements included caring for the nation’s protectors - past and present - and their families. Once design representatives apply the chosen theme they will submit it to the group for a final decision.

A nurse involved in the design process called the session a success. “We are all working to provide a facility with the primary focus on providing exceptional care to our active-duty service members, retirees and family members,” said Maj. LaShanda Cobbs, nurse project officer, office of integration.