Healthcare Design - November 2019 - 64

AFTER COMPLETING a master's degree in
architecture from Texas A&M University
in 2014, Renee Fiala joined EYP's Houston
office as the firm's Tradewell Fellow, a
prestigious career-building program that
provides aspiring healthcare architects with
an opportunity to work closely with senior
medical planners and designers to gain
experience. Following the fellowship, she
joined EYP full-time as a medical planner
and is now responsible for creating optimal
healing environments through collaborative
design methods.

W H AT D O Y O U T H I N K I S T H E
N U M B E R O N E I S S U E FA C I N G T H E
HEALTHCARE DESIGN INDUSTRY IN
2019?

It's well-known that healthcare is trending toward a model that's more consumer focused as
a result of shifting patient preferences, the everincreasing consumerization of medical IT, and
more. This trend should be directly reflected in
the design of healthcare facilities, of course, but
that's not usually the case. Personally, I believe
that this is due to a lack of accountability. Facility
designs should be studied more thoroughly once
occupied and on a continuous basis.

H E A L T H C A R E D E S I G N : W H AT

Renee Fiala
AIA, medical planner,
EYP (Houston)

DREW YOU TO A CAREER IN

W H A T ' S O N E I D E A Y O U H AV E F O R

HEALTHCARE DESIGN?

O V E R C O M I N G T H AT P R O B L E M ?

Fiala: When I was young, I was admitted to
a local facility's emergency department after
a minor biking accident. Unfortunately, to
this day, what I remember most about that
trip is that it was a very long and drawn-out
experience that made a huge impression on
me. Later, when I was provided with an opportunity to explore a healthcare design
studio during college, I reflected on that
time and realized I could leverage my firsthand knowledge to better design facilities
to improve the experience of future patients
and their families. It was the right choice.
During the studio, I quickly realized how
rewarding the profession could be, as it became clearer that the people in a healthcare
facility can significantly benefit from innovative, impactful design.
W H AT ' S O N E R E C E N T P R O J E C T
T H AT Y O U ' R E M O S T P R O U D O F ?

NOVEMBER 2019

Hackensack
Meridian Health,
Ocean Medical
Center, Brick, N.J.

HALKIN MASON PHOTOGRAPHY

I was part of the EYP team that created a
medical-surgical suite dedicated to elective
surgeries for Hackensack Meridian Health,
Ocean Medical Center in Brick, N.J. As part
of this project, we modified the original schematic design of a shell floor to better address
the needs of the newly designated patient
population. My role on the project was focused on working with our researcher to
better understand the underlying causes
of patient falls. We developed solutions
to improve patient safety, focusing on improving visibility into patient rooms, establishing open nurses' stations for improved
observation, and providing accessible bathrooms for all patient rooms. Through this, I
learned the importance of working closely
with staff, patients, and visitors to solicit
feedback and ensure that the facility's design is strategically developed to better
meet their needs.

The best way to ensure that studies on designs
and their efficacy occur and results are distributed more broadly is for clients to demand that
of the firms they work with. As a rule of thumb,
this is one of most efficient ways of pushing design firms to innovate, whether that be in regard
to design, research and development, or something else entirely. I believe this effort will stem
from an improved awareness of design innovation's impact on operational efficiencies and on
patient-reported outcomes; an increase in the
amount of available and reputable third-party
data would expedite this process, as it would
bring the importance of design to clients' attention. Following this, I find it difficult to envision
clients refraining from investing heavily in superior and/or innovative design.
Additionally, I think this shift would encourage clients to be more cognizant of design's financial implications when evaluating cost-saving opportunities. Data sourced from facilities'
designs and their impact on operational efficiencies and patient-reported outcomes could very
well change the industry's entire perspective on
return on investment.

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Healthcare Design - November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - November 2019