Episode 101: How a Pandemic Shaped Healthcare Architectural Design
“Space is power,” says Sharon Woodworth, sector leader at National Healthcare Practice at Harley Ellis Devereaux, who joins The Catalyst to discuss the changing face of healthcare architectural design. With so many industries using technology to create automated experiences for patients, the healthcare industry is wise to follow suit. Sharon explains why she would like outpatient care to more resemble the Apple Genius Bar, and hospitals to have a layout like the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
She and Dr. Lara discuss the pros and cons of what is an increasing level of standardization in healthcare settings.
When the clinician knows exactly where everything is, it limits cognitive drain, yet at what point does standardized feel too sterile? Especially when studies show that inpatients, as a result of a nesting instinct, will begin to personalize their hospital room within an hour of checking in, and clinicians who personalize their office space are shown to be more productive and more receptive to their patients.
How do we design inpatient and outpatient buildings differently so that they promote physician wellness and help prevent burnout? It starts, Sharon says, with clinicians speaking up to higher admin and architects. This begins by realistically visualizing a typical day in the workplace. If architects choose to include fewer exam rooms in their plans, what does this mean for clinician burnout? And if and when another major global disaster happens, how do healthcare spaces accommodate a major influx of patients who will need rooms?
In this episode, Sharon and Dr. Lara Salyer discuss the importance of creativity to overall health and their own experiences with personalized workspaces, the impact it had on both clinicians and patients of all ages.
About Sharon Woodworth:
Sharon Woodworth is a registered architect with over eleven million square feet of healthcare facility planning and design. As a former clinician, she is known for driving change in operations through architectural processes, made possible by her experience spanning a wide range of operational and continuum-of-care issues from neonatology to senior living, and diverse cultural perspectives from completing work around the world. Sharon is known for driving change in operations through architectural design. In addition to practicing architecture full-time, she is an Assistant Professor at UCSF teaching “Leadership in Healthcare Environments” to future healthcare CEOs. In 2017, the AIA elevated Sharon to the College of Fellows for outstanding influence in the field of design. Sharon is currently a Healthcare Sector Leader in the San Francisco office of HED, one of the oldest and largest integrated architecture and engineering firms in the USA.
In This Episode We're Talking About:
- Gemba (go & see). You must see for yourself what the situation is; don’t rely on a spreadsheet or a policy proposal. Find the problem then determine the solution before signing off on a proposal or budget.
- Put your oxygen mask on first. This is in response to “Designing to retain healthcare providers”. When shaping your clinic, hospital, or practice setting, demand space that allows you relief. This might be common sense features like access to natural light, but it is also features no one will ever ask about, such as having a back door. Work through your day in a life and visualize the flow as you look at floor plans or space programs.
- Less bad is not more good. This is in response to “how design can support ‘lean’ operational models.” Lean can be overdone. For example, scaling to available staff was eroded after Covid reduced time-honored staffing ratios, so from a design standpoint you need to go to extremes for best practices such as view lanes, standardized room layouts, and pods that simultaneously create a comfortable working group while allowing for flexing to a larger scale by doubling up pods.
Quotes:
- “If you were not, as a general public, aware of the impact of the environment on health, Covid taught you. Yes, it’s important to have space around you, to have fresh air, to be aware of what’s going on around you.” (6:46 | Sharon Woodworth)
- “We can learn a lot from other industries. Healthcare lags as far as the use of technology and AI, whereas we’ve been self-checking our bags and our airline flights for years, and healthcare is so lagging behind. In other industries, there are kiosks, where you go and check in. Think of going to a restaurant and the people come and find you and get you seated.” (9:34 | Dr. Lara Salyer)
- “Space is power, and you have to fight for what you want. And what happens if you are in a position to be asked to design a space, don’t assume that you’re going to be given a space of respite. Don’t assume that to begin with. So, when you’re asked to join that process, start asking, ‘What are you doing for us?’ Not the patient–yes, we’re all into patient-centered care–but, I’m sorry, without the staff, there is no patient-centered care. So, you have to start with asking, ‘What are you going to be doing for us?’” (17:52 | Sharon Woodworth)
- “Covid taught us, again, that if you’ve taken lean to such an extent that you’ve got the number of rooms based on the number of staff, it’s going to hurt you on that day, that month, or that year when you don’t have the staff and you need to expand the space. And lean can eradicate that future flexibility and that future expansion.” (27:08 | Sharon Woodworth)
Links for this Episode:
Connect with Sharon Woodworth:
Connect with Dr. Lara Salyer:
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Catalyst Kit: https://rightbrainrescue.com/p/catalyst_kit
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
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About The Catalyst Host, Dr. Lara Salyer:
I worked as a family physician for 15 years until burnout changed the trajectory of my career. I realized I wanted to start a holistic functional medicine practice in my rural hometown and made it happen. In addition to practicing functional medicine, I now mentor practitioners who are looking to change their paths in healthcare by using what I refer to as the “Catalyst Roadmap”. I share each step of this framework with listeners so that they may apply it to their careers, relationships, personal goals, and projects.
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