Healthcare Design - March 2017 - 39

GARRETT ROWLAND

A WA R M W E L C O M E

Ubiquitous entry points, lobbies no longer simply serve to funnel people from a parking garage
or drop-off area into the interior of a building.
Instead, hospital leaders have become savvy
about the benefits that a hospitality-styled experience can have on patients, reducing stress
and creating a positive first impression. Amenities and services located in entry spaces increasingly mirror those commonly found in hotels,
including a concierge or staff member to meet
and greet visitors at the front door. "Helping
guide patients to their locations sets the stage for
the overall experience," says Maureen CarleyVallejo, principal and senior healthcare interiors
leader at Perkins Eastman (New York).
Additional hotel-like features making a statement in lobbies include artwork, which can help
bring a human touch to the environment, and
high-end materials and finishes. For example,
White Plains Hospital Center for Cancer Care
in White Plains, N.Y., with interior architecture
and design by Perkins Eastman, showcases a
terrazzo floor in its lobby, an addition during
a recent renovation and expansion that came
with a specific goal in mind. "The first impression from an aesthetic point of view is one of
quality and care," Carley-Vallejo says.
Farther in, interiors solutions for waiting
rooms today bear little resemblance to the bus
station-style layouts of old. Gone are the rows
of connected chairs and wobbly tables, shrubshrouded windows, and televisions blasting
talk shows. In their places are comfortable
couches, educational kiosks, and soaring views
that bathe visitors in natural daylight. "We're
changing the rules of the waiting game," says
Ana Pinto-Alexander, principal and director
of health interiors at HKS (Dallas). Her firm
is even tossing the word "waiting" from its vocabulary, preferring instead to repurpose the
waiting time to better engage, educate, prepare, and relax patients. "The size, space, and
aesthetics of the environment change when
you stop thinking about it as just wasted waiting time."
Others, such as Northwell Health, are introducing a homelike setting to set patients at
ease. Recognizing that cancer patients at its
Imbert Cancer Center in Bay Shore, N.Y., often spend a significant amount of time obtaining treatment over numerous visits, Northwell
wanted its public spaces to "be calm and promote healing," says Sven Gierlinger, vice president and chief experience officer at Northwell
Health (Great Neck, N.Y.). "We wanted them to

A digitally projected
water element in the
flooring and kid-sized
seating in fun shapes
and colors help engage
young patients while
waiting at the Children's
Hospital of Richmond
in Richmond, Va.,
designed by HKS.

have a feeling of being welcomed." Opened in October 2016 and designed
by EwingCole, the facility's aesthetic is based on a living room concept,
with homelike furnishings, warm colors on the walls, floor lamps, inviting
chairs, and ottoman-style tables.
Beyond providing comfort, the design of public spaces can also reduce
stress by offering patients and visitors choice in how they experience the
environment. "Different people need different sorts of physical conditions," Jabbawy says. For example, some visitors do better when completely distracted, either through their mobile device or by exploring the
hospital's educational material about treatment options and wellness topics, while others prefer a quieter space. Designing multiple layouts using a
mix of seating and table types within a single area gives individuals the ability to make themselves comfortable and offers flexibility. "Some lounges
allow people to do their work, to eat with family members, or to cocoon
while looking at a video," Jabbawy says. Flexible seating arrangements that
can be pulled together or moved apart support a more customized experience and empower patients and visitors to make the space fit their own
definition of waiting.
KEEPING BUSY

Lobbies and waiting areas are expanding their roles, too, with healthcare providers increasingly introducing amenities such as cafés and retail
spaces that allow users to do more with their time there. "Whenever someone needs to go to the hospital or outpatient facility, it's a huge disruption
to their daily life," Stroupe says. "We want to make it possible and convenient for those people to do many other things at the same time." So alongside traditional coffee tables, designers are adding seated-height surfaces
where visitors can plop down their laptops and power outlets in easy-toreach places. "The idea that it's just a passive state, that people sit and wait,
is going by the wayside," Stroupe says.
Children, especially, benefit from distraction: A bored youngster can become unhappy or rambunctious, which can make even a short wait seem
like an eternity and drive up the stress levels of other patients. "You really
want to engage the children who are coming there, along with their family
members," says Laura Dyer Hild, vice president at HKS (Richmond, Va.).
Children's Hospital of Richmond addressed this issue at its new outpatient

MARCH 2017

Healthcare Design - March 2017

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