Healthcare Design - November 2015 - 40

are quieter and promote relaxation. Thematic art for various spaces
depicts a diversity of life stages and states of health, and a community room offers multifunctional space to accommodate everything
from birthing classes to menopause groups, with built-in sofas that
offer both seating and storage as well as an adjacent storage room for
tables and chairs to allow flexibility.
CannonDesign completed another all-in-one concept in St. Louis,
with BJC HealthCare's first outpatient facility for St. Louis Children's
Hospital and the Washington University Medical Center, where the
client's goal was to prevent chronically ill parents and their caregivers
from having to trek long distances from home and then hike through
an unwieldy, unfamiliar medical campus. Jocelyn Stroupe, director
of healthcare interiors for CannonDesign (Chicago), says the owner
requested "a retail approach to design and putting it where the
community need is." The facility offers a café and Safety Shop for car
seats and other kid-related equipment, as well as a pharmacy. It's a
nod to another expectation consumers learned in retail: clustering of
similar services, which speeds shoppers along their errand runs.
Stroupe says the facility isn't borrowing institutional branding but
informing it. And it's an ongoing process. "It's seen as establishing
a new approach to the brand," she says. "We're looking at what that
means to the main hospital campus and how can that be infused
into inpatient care and other elements of that building. We created
this new identity for this brand in this outpatient facility, and now it's
informing everything they're doing moving forward. That's a common condition we're seeing as it's related to aesthetic."
Adding a retail feel
To attract brand-loyal customers, taking a demographic- and detailobsessed outlook won't hurt, either. Convenience is king, topping
even personalization in some cases. Medical settings used to rely
on coldness and sterility to generate a sense of security (which
questionably worked). Now, consumers are overworked and baffled
by endless choice. They want familiar providers; consistent experiences; and environments where snacks are welcome, kids can do
homework, private conversations aren't overheard, and seating
options accommodate briefcases, backpacks, and coats.
The rest "is pure psychology," Montaño says. "Don't slam the
desk at the front, but give people a little time when they come in to
gather their wits around them to see, 'I'm here, I see seating over
there, now I'm going to go here.'" In other words, don't make it a
mystery and don't make it difficult. Additionally, it's about creating a
space that feels as energized as those who pass through its doors,
whether they're facing surgery or visiting a family member.
The idea of healthcare as an institution is fading as today's healthcare consumers demand convenience and care that mimic their
experience in grocery stores, clothiers, and coffee shops. Facilities
that successfully bridge the gap between healthcare and retail not
only will drive a medical care model that responds to how we live,
but will create environments that are sources of health and not just
places to heal. HCD
Robin Donovan is a freelance writer and editor based in Cincinnati.
She can be reached at rkdonovan@gmail.com.

HCDmagazine.com 11.15

Setting up shop
"Hospitals in dense urban environments are waking up to the idea that
ground-floor retail can both be rented and provide a set of goods and
services to the city-within-a-city that the hospital actually is," says Robin
Guenther, principal at Perkins+Will (New York).
And if you thought convincing retailers to enter healthcare campuses
meant simply getting them over the "ick" factor, think again. Hospitals
themselves have become choosier landlords as, for example, they seek
quick-service eateries that offer both fast and healthy options.
In turn, retailers are learning just how attractive hospital-based selling
spaces can be. With a captive audience of patients and families, as well
as 24/7 staffing, a hospital's foot traffic can turn a small community into
a retail-worthy hub. While some health systems prefer to maintain control
over retail offerings as additional sources of revenue, others see recognizable retailers positioned on the ground floor as just one more amenity
they're offering to lure healthcare consumers.
Design is typically driven by the retailer with an allotted square footage,
though some leases allow for a "more sophisticated approach," says Jocelyn Stroupe, director of healthcare interiors for CannonDesign. "There's
an interface where the entry occurs, whether on the street or inside the
building itself, and in some cases there are guidelines so that the retailers
can finish the entryway, much like in a shopping mall."
In some cases, incorporating retail means not only design features that
mimic a look that appeals to shoppers, rather than patients, but urban
planning that supports retail-healthcare adjacencies. For example, in
Boston, designers at Perkins+Will tackled the emotional needs of physical
rehabilitation patients with the harbor-front Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, which is complemented by public-facing spaces, such as a gift shop,
dog-friendly lobby and patio, café, and a community conference center.
And in the same way that the Cleveland Clinic offers out-of-towners
an upscale stay with its adjoining InterContinental hotel, health systems
need not stick to modest partnerships. In fact, Guenther suggests not only
hotel concepts but spa services, too. "Health-supportive, upscale retail
ideas are becoming more connected in large academic medical centers to
service people who are there from a long way away or for a long period of
time," she says, describing average academic medical centers as "islands
in neighborhoods where that kind of retail doesn't exist."
To help identify the best pairings, consider not only the hospital's location, but the pent-up demands of its staff. Poll them, Guenther suggests,
to see what types of services are most wanted. Would an outdoor eating
area, dry cleaner, or small grocery store be most used? Then, take that
data to hospital leadership to justify the cost.

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Healthcare Design - November 2015

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