Other
News
2010
"A River of
Life"
Health Forum Magazine
Feature article in the magazine's "Last Detail
- Celebrating Excellence in Design" section
Poltronieri
Tang & Associates' donor recognition project for The Children's
Inn
at NIH was featured in Health Forum Magazine, an American Hospital
Association (AHA) publication
"PICU Design: Influence on
Patient Outcomes and Staff/Family Satisfaction"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates presented at the 2010
NACRHI Creating Connections Conference in San Diego, CA
(March 2010)
Co-presented
with Charles Schleien MD,
Executive
Vice Chairman, Department of Pediatrics; Professor of Pediatrics and
Anesthesiology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons;
New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital; Former
Director of Critical Care Medicine
This
presentation summarized the research finding of a recent study which
documented the impact different physical models of PICU design have on
family and staff presence and behavior in the PICU environment.
"Trends in the Design
of Children’s Hospitals"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates has
presented to the Facilities Design and Construction staff of
the Milton S.
Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA (February 2010)
2009
"Addressing
Emotional and Spiritual Needs of Patients and Families through the
Design of Children’s Hospitals"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates presented at the 4th International Conference on
Patient- and Family-Centered Care in Philadelphia, PA
(August 2009)
This
presentation provides a case study of how the emotional and spiritual
needs of patients and families at the Penn State Children’s
Hospital are being addressed through the implementation of 50
operational initiatives. These new and responsive initiatives
influenced not only the design of the new children’s hospital
building but guided the design team selected by the hospital to
implement its intentions.
The
presentation included patient
and family stories gathered through the design process, as well as an
overview of current patient and family focused national design trends
and an interactive audience sharing session as the basis for the
exploration of the issue of emotion and spirituality in children’s
hospitals.
"Patient and Family Stories –
Responding Through Healthcare Facility Design"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates presented at the 4th International Conference on
Patient- and Family-Centered Care in Philadelphia, PA
(August 2009)
Illness
and disability are frequently strong catalysts for artistic expression
and creativity. Patients often use the written word to
document,
examine, and share their deepest most intimate feelings, ideas, and
experiences. This presentation shares our work exploring and
analyzing various texts written by children and young adults facing
physical illness and disability.
In addition to this written
information, our investigations are supplemented by additional patient
and family stories gathered from interviews and questionnaires
conducted for design projects at different children’s hospital
facilities. Our resulting collected information has been
translated and incorporated into a series of patient- and
family-generated design recommendations that aid us in understanding
patient concerns for use on specific design projects.
“Patient Generated Design
Guidelines: What Do the Children Say?”
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates
spoke at the 2009 NACHRI Facilities Design Conference in Austin, TX
(May 2009)
Illness
and disability are frequently strong catalysts for artistic expression
and creativity. Patients often use the written word to document,
examine and share their deepest, most intimate feelings, ideas and
experiences. This presentation shares our work exploring and
analyzing various texts written by children and young adults facing
physical illness and disability.
Our investigations are
supplemented by patient and family stories gathered from interviews and
questionnaires conducted at children's hospital facilities across the
country. The resulting collected information has been
translated
and incorporated into a series of patient- and family-generated design
recommendations that allow us to better understand how patients have
experienced their hospital stays, and how we can best mediate the
designed environment to ease the negative effects of inpatient episodes
on patients.
“PICU Environmental Research
Study: Comparing/Contrasting Three Physical Models”
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates
spoke at the 2009 NACHRI Facilities Design Conference in Austin, TX
(May 2009)
This
workshop will present the research findings of a recent study of three
separate PICU’s all within the same academic children’s
hospital.
Each unit has significantly different spatial and environmental
characteristics. The workshop will present data which
compares
and contrasts the differing unit configurations, their physical
layouts, space allocations, and functional relationships.
The
data collected quantifies the correlations between these environmental
factors and measurements of family and patient satisfaction; patient
safety and outcomes; and staff efficiency and satisfaction.
The
results of this research are intended to guide and inform the detailed
physical planning and design of the PICU environment. It will
provide a detailed and quantified understanding of the environmental
design factors that have an impact on the pediatric intensive care
setting.
“Finding Inspiration:
Physician as Design Muse”
Article authored by Laura Poltronieri
AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang & Associates is
published in Children’s
Hospital
Today
Magazine
(Spring 2009)
“Fiscally Responsible Development
of Pediatric Healthcare Institutions”
Article
authored by Pamela Ward O’Malley and Laura Poltronieri
AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang & Associates is
published in Children’s
Hospital
Today
Magazine
(Spring 2009)
"Minimizing the Emotional Stress
of MovingTowards New Operational and Physical Models of Care in the
NICU"
Laura Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates presented a poster session at the 22nd Annual Gravens
Conference for the Physical and Developmental Environment of the High
Risk Infant in Clearwater Beach, FL (January 2009)
The
emotional issues involved in moving towards new models of care and new
facilities can be traumatic for NICU staff members. It is
often
very difficult for clinical staff members to imagine new practice
methods and models once they have become entrenched in a specific
facility and pattern of care delivery for a number of years.
The
purpose of this poster session was to educate NICU administrators and
clinical staff members to the diverse range of tools that can be
implemented to gently expose their staff members to new physical and
operational models of NICU care, thereby easing the transition to
newprocesses and environments. These planning tools and
methodologies were developed in part to minimize the stress that
accompanies significant change, including transitions to new facilities
and new models of care.
2008
“Evidence
Based Design, Does One Size Fit All?”
Article authored by Laura Poltronieri AIA, Principal,
Poltronieri Tang & Associates is published in Children’s
Hospital
Today
Magazine,
Volume 16
“Designing for Children’s Health:
Why One Size Does Not Fit All”
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates
spoke at the 2008 Healthcare Design conference in Washington DC
(November 2008)
Over
$6-billion is being spent annually on construction of new healthcare
facilities for children. With this amount of money at stake,
what
is the best way to design healthcare facilities specifically with
children in mind? This presentation discussed the unique
aspects
of designing environments for children’s healthcare.
"The Third Millennium of
Children’s Hospital Design in the United States"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates was a
speaker at the Third Millennium Hospital Conference in Alba, Italy
(May 2008)
A presentation to an international audience on
current trends in the
design of children’s healthcare environments within the United States.
“Made for Each Other – How to
Select the Right Design Team for Your Project”
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates
spoke at the NACHRI Facilities Conference in Denver, CO (May 2008)
Co-presented
with Jennifer Eno of New-York Presbyterian Hospital System
According
to a recent survey by Health Facilities Management magazine,
construction of new Children’s Hospital projects has grown at an
unprecedented rate over the last five years. With well over
five
billion dollars in construction each year the size, cost, and
complexity
of these buildings is considerable. Yet, administrators and
clinical staff members often do not speak the same language as
architects and other design professionals. Institutional
project
and program managers can sometimes aid in translation, but a major
factor in the success of any facilities project remains making a good
match between users and designers.
"What Cannot be Measured –
Addressing Emotional and Spiritual Needs Through Design"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates was
a speaker at the NACHRI Facilities Conference in Denver, CO (May 2008)
Co-presented
with Matt Wain and Patti Light of the Penn State Children’s Hospital,
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Our
greatest healers understand the importance of the human spirit in the
curative process. Current discussions of pediatric healthcare
design focus on evidence based design, “green” buildings, and the
creation of healthy, safe, and error-free environments.
Institutions long grounded in scientific research remain more
comfortable in the realm of the measurable than the immeasurable.
This
presentation discussed issues of emotional and spiritual needs that are
by their nature, not easily measurable yet remain at the core of the
work of children’s hospitals. This presentation provides a case study
of how the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families at
one children’s hospital are being addressed through the building design
process. The presentation included patient and family stories,
an
overview of current national design trends, and an interactive audience
sharing session as the basis for the exploration of the issue of
emotion and spirituality in children’s hospitals.
"21st Century NICU's: How
Operational Models Effect Mission and Margin"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates was
a speaker at the NACHRI Spring Meeting in Miami, FL
(March 2008)
Co-presented
with Judy Smith, Smith Hager Bajo
The
NICU is an important financial cornerstone for may children's
hospitals. New operational models of care, most significantly
single family rooms, are quickly becoming the standard of care in the
marketplace. Children's hospital financial leaders need to
understand how these changes influence the mission as well as the
margin of their hospitals.
This presentation presented a
typology of NICU models, and examine the implications these new models
have on staffing patterns and ratios, reimbursement, volumes, market
share, length of stay, infection control, CMI, collaborations with
other providers, systems, community hospitals, and physician groups,
staff satisfaction, retention and recruitment, patient satisfaction,
and community relationships.
"Fiscally Responsible Development
of Pediatric Healthcare Projects"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates was
a speaker at the NACHRI Spring Meeting in Miami, FL (March 2008)
Co-presented
with Pamela Ward, Gilbane Building Company
Children's
hospitals are expanding their facilities at an unprecedented
rate. But how can healthcare finance executives and board
members
make sure that these financial investments in buildings are being done
in the most fiscally responsible manner possible? This
presentation examines issues of project costs, construction
costs,
operational costs, on-going building maintenance, staffing costs, and
long term flexibility.
It identifies the issues which
uniquely influence andimpact the cost of pediatric healthcare
facilities and projects. This presentation presents
cost
analysis information from numerous ongoing pediatric building projects
across the country and develop a typology for analyzing project,
construction, and operational costs. The cost model developed
as
a result of this presentation can become a helpful tool for children's
hospitals when evaluating the appropriateness of building project.
2006
"Creating
Connections -- How A Successful Performance Space Can Help You Connect
with Your Key Constituencies"
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates
presented a poster presentation at the NACHRI Conference in Washington
DC (March 2006)
Co-presented
with Terre Considine, Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian
Many
children's hospitals would like to develop multi-purpose performance
spaces within their hospitals, but their practicality and cost benefits
are often questioned. This poster presentation examines how
the
multi-purpose performance space at the Morgan Stanley Children's
Hospital of New York Presbyterian has become the active "heart" of the
institution, fostering key relationships with patients, families, staff
members, schools, community groups, cultural institutions, artists,
donors, as well as members of the wider medical center, and the media.
2005
“Riding the
Wave: Planning for the Peaks and Valleys of Utilization in
the Emergency Department”
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates was
a speaker at the NACHRI Conference in New Orleans, LA (March 2005)
Co-presented
with Bernadette O’Brien RN, VP Operations, and Meredith
Sonnett MD, Acting Medical Director, Pediatric Emergency Services,
Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian
“Right-sizing”
the pediatric emergency department is one of the most complicated
capacity issues facing children’s hospitals today. Standard
statistical data including numbers of annual visits and average length
of stay don't address the important peak capacity issues that change
dramatically with the time of day and year. Supporting
family-focused care in the Emergency Department adds an important
additional
capacity issue to the mix.
2004
“New
Buildings: Do They Really Matter? Using Statistical Analysis
to Evaluate Performance in a Newly Designed Hospital”
Laura
Poltronieri AIA, Principal, Poltronieri Tang &
Associates was
a speaker at the NACHRI Annual Convention in Fort Lauderdale, FL
(October 2004)
Co-presented
with Cynthia Sparer, Executive Director, Children's Hospital
of
New York-Presbyterian and Andrea Colon, RN VP Nursing
and Patient Care Services, Children's Hospital of New
York-Presbyterian
Every
year Children’s Hospitals all across the country spend millions of
dollars on renovation and new construction projects. But how
effectively do these projects address issues of real concern to
patients, their families and staff members?
“Evidence Based
Design” (EBD) strives to develop statistical tools for evaluating the
impact of newly designed facilities on patient outcomes and other
measures related to quality of care. By understanding the
relationship between the built environment, key design characteristics
and health care quality, institutions can make informed and focused
decisions regarding their capital expenditures and the resulting
facilities constructed.
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