Healthcare « Therapeutic Landscapes Network

EBD Boot Camp – Boot Camp for Evidence-Based Design

August 26, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

EBD Boot Camp

It’s back to school! On September 12-14, the Texas A&M Center for Health Systems and Design will hold a two-day work session on evidence-based design. EBD Boot Camp is a practical interactive work session that will give design professionals, developers, researchers, and others the practical experience of applying relevant evidence in their work.

Led by Texas A&M experts, the September Boot Camp is the first of four work sessions sponsored by the Center for Health Systems and Design. Another fall EBD Boot Camp session takes place October 24-26; two more sessions will follow in 2014, February 6-8 and March 20-22. The organizers describe the hands-on workshop in this way:

This is not a superficial conference presentation about theory. It is a unique, no-nonsense, limited attendance and hands-on work session using relevant evidence to develop the real project on your desk.

Want to learn how to incorporate evidence-based design into your work? Bring a current project and learn how to use and integrate relevant evidence through a hands-on, interactive work session with expert guides.

WHERE:
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

WHEN:
September 12-14, 2013 or October 24-26, 2013

REGISTRATION:
$1700 per person, $1450 for each additional person – same firm. Limited to 8 attendees per session.

FACULTY:
D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA, EDAC
Mardelle Shepley, D.Arch, AIA, LEED AP, EDAC
James W. Varni, PhD
Susan D. Rodiek, PhD, NCARB, EDAC
Zofia Rybkowski, PhD,LEED AP
Xuemei Zhu, PhD
Zhipeng Lu, PhD

OPEN TO:
Architects, Landscape Architects, Engineers, Designers, Project Managers, Researchers, Technology Experts, Librarians, Developers, and Building Owners

CERTIFICATE:
Attendees who complete the EBD Boot Camp, perform the assigned work and pass the review exam will receive an Advanced Practitioner Certificate from the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University.

For more information contact Judy Pruitt at(979) 845-7009 or jpruitt@tamu.edu. To register, click here. For more information, read the EBD Boot Camp flier.

Going to the hospital and we’re…gonna get married

August 13, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

Staff, patients, and visitors enjoy the Les & Betty Krueger Family Healing Garden.

The hospital isn’t somewhere most people plan on getting married. In fact, the idea might be hard for some to imagine. But what if really wanted to get married, and you really couldn’t leave the hospital…where would you choose for the wedding? Your room? Probably not, especially if it’s a shared room. The chapel? Maybe, but not all hospital chapels are that inspiring, and not all are non-denominational. So, how about outside in the garden? A quiet, neutral place away from the sharp corners, beeping machines, and sterile surfaces. A place with fresh air, sunlight, and greenery.

Though there have surely been more, we know of at least three weddings that have taken place in healing gardens at hospitals in the United States. In all cases, the patient was too ill to leave and was determined to say their vows, in the garden.

This quote is from one of the employees at Harrison Medical Center, which just recently opened the Les & Betty Krueger Family Healing Garden:

I was in the garden this morning when a chaplain came in with a patient’s mother. Her son was on one of our surgery floors and was supposed to be getting married tomorrow. His mother asked if they could get married in the garden. They had a huge wedding planned. We then discovered his bride to be was a nurse on one of our units. So I talked with Catering and Security to plan. We are having a small ceremony in the garden and reception on our front patio tomorrow. Catering jumped right in to help with food and setting up the patio. Security is blocking off one of our lots for parking. I cannot think of a more therapeutic or sacred use of the garden than entering into matrimony. Definitely one I would not expect.

Thanks to the landscape architect, Mark Epstein of Hafs Epstein, for sharing, and to Harrison Medical Center for letting us re-print the story! For some more photos of the garden, click here.

HEALTHCARE DESIGN 2013 – Early Bird reg. ends Friday!

August 5, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

In our earlier post on HEALTHCARE DESIGN 2013, we didn’t list specific sessions because they hadn’t been published yet. So here’s an update, with sessions that may be of particular interest to our Network members. Keep in mind that many other sessions will probably cover access to nature in one way or another; these are just the ones that mentioned it specifically.

First, here’s the HCD13 blurb:

“Shaping the Future of Healthcare Facility Design”
The Healthcare Design Conference is the premier event devoted to how the design of responsibly built environments directly impact the safety, operation, clinical outcomes, and financial success of healthcare facilities now and into the future. With roughly 4000 participants at the 2012 Healthcare Design Conference, this is the industry’s best-attended conference where attendees can earn up to 24 continuing education credits, network with peers, and influence the direction of the industry as it advances into the future.

For more information and to register, visit www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com/conference/healthcare-design-conference

Now the sessions:

Facility tour of Nemours Childrens Hospital

TAMU First Look Colloqium—Therapeutic Landscapes: Tools for Successful Design and Outcomes
Naomi Sachs, Founding Director, Therapeutic Landscapes Network; Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, DArch, FAIA, FACHA, EDAC, LEED AP, The Skaggs – Sprague Endowed Chair in Health Facilities Design, Director, Center for Health Systems & Design, Texas A&M University.
Access to nature in the healthcare environment is increasingly accepted by designers, healthcare administrators, staff, and the community as an important element in the environment of care. As demand grows, designers need solid research, specific guidelines, and good existing examples to inform their work. Guidelines with clearly defined metrics can be translated into an evaluative tool for “apples to apples” comparisons. All of these strategies help stakeholders to understand the role and importance of access to nature. This understanding and knowledge ensures that spaces—and elements within those spaces—provide the best possible outcomes for patients, visitors, staff.

(more…)

HEALTHCARE DESIGN 2013 early bird registration ends 5/10!

May 9, 2013 | by Naomi Sachs

Nova Southeastern University Medicinal & Healing Garden, Orlando, Florida.
Photo from www.jessedurko.com/novahealinggarden.html

Register now and save big!

The annual HEALTHCARE DESIGN Conference in Orlando, Florida this fall is months away, but the opportunity to save significantly on the registration fee is coming to a close. Friday, May 10 is the last day to receive the “super saver” conference rate for the event that takes place November 16-19, 2013.

The premier conference is devoted to the design of responsibly built environments and how such settings directly impact the safety, operation, clinical outcomes, and financial success of healthcare facilities. Attendees come from many disciplines and different levels of professional experience including architecture, interior design, facilities management, academia, clinical care, product developers, service providers, and researchers, to name just a few.

Register for the conference, check out the packed agenda, and learn about the exhibitors.

Clare Cooper Marcus and I will be there (with our new book!) for the TAMU First Look Colloquium speaking about “Therapeutic Landscapes: Tools for Successful Design and Outcomes.” I’ll post more about what other specific educations sessions our TLN members might be interested in.

For more information on the Nova Southeastern University Medicinal & Healing Garden in Orlando see this article from the Sun Sentinel. The photo is from http://www.jessedurko.com/novahealinggarden.html.