SAFEE: A Debriefing Tool to Identify Latent Conditions in Simulation-based Hospital Design Testing.

In the process of hospital planning and design, the ability to mitigate risk is imperative and practical as design decisions made early can lead to unintended downstream effects that may lead to patient harm. Simulation has been applied as a strategy to identify system gaps and safety threats with the goal to mitigate risk and improve patient outcomes. Early in the pre-construction phase of design development for a new free-standing children's hospital, Simulation-based Hospital Design Testing (SbHDT) was conducted in a full-scale mock-up. This allowed healthcare teams and architects to actively witness care providing an avenue to study the interaction of humans with their environment, enabling effectively identification of latent conditions that may lay dormant in proposed design features. In order to successfully identify latent conditions in the physical environment and understand the impact of those latent conditions, a specific debriefing framework focused on the built environment was developed and implemented. This article provides a rationale for an approach to debriefing that specifically focuses on the built environment and describes SAFEE, a debriefing guide for simulationists looking to conduct SbHDT.

Effects of Unit Design on Acute Care Nurses' Walking Distances, Energy Expenditure, and Job Satisfaction: A Pre-Post Relocation Study.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine what differences occurred in steps taken and energy expenditure among acute care nurses when their work environment moved from a hospital with centralized nurses' stations to a hospital with decentralized nurses' stations. Additional goals were to determine design features nurses perceived as contributing to or deterring from their work activities and what changes occurred in reported job satisfaction. Since design features can also affect patient outcomes, patient falls were monitored. BACKGROUND: The construction of a replacement facility for a 224-bed Level 1 trauma center provided the opportunity to compare the effects of centralized versus decentralized nurses' stations on nurses' experiences of their work environments. METHOD: A pre-post quasi-experimental design was used. RN participants completed an open-ended questionnaire and recorded pedometer data at the end of each shift, working for 3-month pre-relocation and for 3-month post-relocation. Nine months passed between the move and post-relocation data collection. RESULTS: There were significant reductions in nurses' energy expenditure ( p < .001) and steps taken ( p = .041) post-relocation. Overall, nurses' job satisfaction was high and improved post-relocation, and patient falls decreased by 55%. CONCLUSIONS: Post-relocation, a number of the dissatisfiers associated with the physical environment were eliminated, and nurses identified more satisfiers (in general and related to the physical environment). Patients are safer post-relocation as indicated by a decrease in falls. This decrease is even more noteworthy when considering that the numbers of patient beds on each unit is higher post-relocation.

Finishes and furnishings: considerations for critical care environments.

When selecting finishes and furnishings within a critical care unit, multiple factors can ultimately affect patient outcomes, impact costs, and contribute to operational efficiencies. First, consider the culture of the regional location, operations of the specific facility, and the recent focus on patient-centered care. The intention is to create an appropriate familiarity and comfort level with the environment for the patient and family. Second, safety and infection control are of utmost concern, particularly for the critical care patient with limited mobility. The planning and design team must be acutely aware of the regulations and guidelines of various governing agencies, local codes, and best design practices that can directly affect choices of finishes and furnishings. Flooring, wall, and window finishes, lighting, art and color, as well as furniture and fabric selection should be considered. Issues to address include maintenance, durability, sustainability, infection control, aesthetics, safety, wayfinding, and acoustics. Balancing these issues with comfort, patient and staff satisfaction, accommodations for an aging population, increasing bariatric needs, efficient operations, and avoidance of "never events" requires team collaboration and communication, knowledge of product advancements, a keen awareness of how environmental stimuli are perceived, and utilization of the best available evidence to make informed design decisions.