Children's Hospitals Today - Summer 2017 - 23

INNOVATION / FEATURE

and managing their prescriptions, to
interacting with their care team and
navigating health insurance.
Of course, the patients don't go it
alone. The pediatric and adult CF care
teams at ProMedica work together for
a seamless transition of care. The initial meetings are joint visits between
the patient and both sets of care providers so everyone is on the same page
regarding the care plan and objectives.
Subsequent appointments are increasingly led by the adult caregivers, with
the pediatric specialists on hand to
assist as needed. "This is truly patientcentered care," says Paula Grieb, RN,
vice president of patient care services
and chief nursing officer at ProMedica
Toledo Children's Hospital. "We are
helping these patients transition over
a three-year period from a completely
dependent state: 'My parents have handled everything for me,' to 'I'm an adult
with an adult chronic disease, and I
know how to handle it on my own.'"

4 | Facilities and the
healing environment
For Diane Osan, the design of hospital facilities is personal. When her
daughter was 6 months old, she required emergency surgery when 40
centimeters of her intestine slid into
itself, causing a blockage. This was
about 25 years ago, and things were
much different then. "Children's hospitals have long had words like hope,
joy and guardianship in their mission
statements," Osan says. "But back
then, most of their environments did
not reflect that mission. They were
not colorful, they were not cheerful.
Maybe there were a few Disney decals
on the walls, but that's about it."
Osan says the hospital halls were
hard to navigate as she and her husband sought food and rest during
their daughter's hospital stay. All of
this stuck with her as a parent going

through the nightmare of having a seriously ill child-and as an architect. "I
saw how important the design of a hospital was, and how we could make a difference in some of the most important
moments in people's lives with the right
design," says Osan, who is now CEO of
FKP Architects, a Houston-based architecture firm that specializes in health
care, science and education.

Family and patient friendly
Today, children's hospitals are known
for their distinctive environments,
which include right-sized equipment,
distraction therapy, child life professionals and more. From bright, cheery
rooms and fish tanks in lobbies, to
X-ray machines that look like giraffes,
pediatric facilities are created with
calm and comfort in mind.
This helps young patients feel safe,
more comfortable and less scared. Adult
institutions are starting to see that kids
aren't the only ones who benefit from
this type of healing environment. "On
the facility side, children's hospitals
have been groundbreaking and way
ahead of adult medicine," says Osan. "It's
only during the last five years that we're
seeing adult medicine catch up."
Case in point: Osan and her team
built bubble columns in a children's
hospital's waiting room. The bubbling
water features combine the movement of bubbles and LED lighting to
create visual interest. Soon thereafter,
Osan and her team built something
similar-a bubble wall with the feel
of a waterfall-in an adult health care
facility nearby. This is just one example of how adult institutions are rethinking facility design with patient
and families in mind, something that
children's hospitals grasped years ago.
Adult medicine is also learning that
having the family at the bedside has
benefits. "Families can be an active
partner in the health care processes,

produces better outcomes," she says.
So the adult institutions, Osan says,
are racking up the ways in which they
are following children's hospitals
when it comes to facility design to create a more patient- and family-friendly
environment. Here's a rundown:
 Reconfiguring patient room size,
space around the bed and space
for accommodations like couches
so families can stay overnight
and spend time at the bedside
more comfortably
 Designing separate spaces for
family members outside the
patient room where caregivers can
rest and recharge
 Identifying rooms where care
teams can educate patients and
families-something children's
hospitals have embraced for
some time
 Identifying spaces for pet,
massage, art or music therapies
 Creating rooftop gardens for
respite or end-of-life moments for
patients with their families
 Transforming offices into more
collaborative work environments
to facilitate team-based
care-another trend that has
transitioned from children's
hospitals to adult medicine
Whether they're creating a healing
environment or leading the way in
family-centered care, care coordination or patient safety, children's hospitals will continue to set an example for
adult hospitals to follow.
Megan McDonnell Busenbark is a
writer and founder and principal of
Encore Communications LLC, in New
Fairfield, Connecticut.
Send questions or comments to
magazine@childrenshospitals.org.

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL S TODAY Summer 2017

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