Hospital Buildings Can Heal According to First Comprehensive Report on Impact of Physical Environment on Chil...(moderate to high cost design interventio...),Health

-- Single family patient rooms

-- Adequate space for families to stay overnight in patient rooms

-- Accessible indoor or outdoor gardens

-- Visual access and accessibility to patients (e.g. through decentralized

nurses' stations)

-- HEPA filtration for immune compromised patients

"The exciting news is that well designed hospitals based on evidence can actually increase patient safety and quality, reduce anxiety and stress for child patients and their families and also improve working conditions for hospital staff," said Lawrence McAndrews, president and CEO of NACHRI. "Bottom line is this report challenges children's hospitals and adult hospitals that serve children to evaluate their built spaces and implement design interventions that can help their pediatric patients heal."

"As the industry advances, evidence mounts that thoughtful facility design can help bring patients, staff and families into the center of the health care experience, increase patient satisfaction in the health care environment, encourage family participation, support an already overburdened staff and advance the overall quality of care provided," added Debra Levin, president and CEO of The Center for Health Design.

Billions of dollars are being invested in new hospital construction and renovation and children's hospitals in particular are incorporating evidence-based design into planning. Evidence-based design is defined as the deliberate attempt to base building decisions on the best available evidence with the goal of achieving the best possible outcomes for patients, families and staff while improving utilization of resources.

"Hospital leaders and boards face a new reality," said Blair Sadler, a report author and former CEO of Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego. "They must deploy all reaso
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