Advancing Translational Research through Facility Design in Non-AMC Hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to explore the future of translational research and its physical design implications for community hospitals and hospitals not attached to large centralized research platforms. BACKGROUND: With a shift in medical services delivery focus to community wellness, continuum of care, and comparative effectiveness research, healthcare research will witness increasing pressure to include community-based practitioners. METHODS: The roundtable discussion group, comprising 14 invited experts from 10 institutions representing the fields of biomedical research, research administration, facility planning and design, facility management, finance, and environmental design research, examined the issue in a structured manner. The discussion was conducted at the Washington Hospital Center, MedStar Health, Washington, D.C. CONCLUSIONS: Institutions outside the AMCs will be increasingly targeted for future research. Three factors are crucial for successful research in non-AMC hospitals: operational culture, financial culture, and information culture. An operating culture geared towards creation, preservation, and protection of spaces needed for research; creative management of spaces for financial accountability; and a flexible information infrastructure at the system level that enables complete link of key programmatic areas to academic IT research infrastructure are critical to success of research endeavors. KEYWORDS: Hospital, interdisciplinary, leadership, planning, work environment.

Integrating disaster preparedness and surge capacity in emergency facility planning.

The ability to adapt and utilize emergency facilities is a critical element in responding to surges resulting from man-made and natural events. The current stresses on emergency services throughout the country find few adequately prepared to effectively absorb a sudden increase in patients along with some of the potential special requirements, such as quarantining of epidemic patients and mass decontamination. This article reviews major findings of the federally funded ER One project, a research initiative that has described a number of facility strategies, which should be considered in planning new emergency facilities. An early case study in the application of these principles at the recently completed Tampa General Hospital emergency service is provided, illustrating how, when integrated into the early planning and design, many of the ER One recommendations can be implemented at modest capital cost increases.

Clinical Policy for Procedural Sedation and Analgesia in the Emergency Department.

[American College of Emergency Physicians: Clinical policy for procedural sedation and analgesia in the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med May 1998;31:663-677.].

Clinical Policy for the Initial Approach to Patients Presenting With Acute Blunt Trauma.

[American College of Emergency Physicians: Clinical policy for the initial approach to patients presenting with acute blunt trauma. Ann Emerg Med March 1998;31:422-454.].