New and Noteworthy

Spring 2008

"The Third Millennium of Children’s Hospital Design in the United States"

Laura Poltronieri Tang AIA,  to speak at the Third Millennium Hospital Conference in Alba Italy on May 16. 

“Made for Each Other – How to Select the Right Design Team for Your Project”

Laura Poltronieri Tang, AIA to speak at the NACHRI Facilities Conference in Denver Colorado

Co Presented with Jennifer Eno of New York Presbyterian

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 Tang, AIA to speak at the NACHRI Facilities Conference in Denver Colorado

Co Presented with Matt Wain and Patti Light of the Penn State Children’s Hospital at the 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 will discuss 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 will include: 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 Tang, AIA to speak at the NACHRI Spring Meeting in Miami Florida

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 will present 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.