In the continuing effort to improve the quality of healthcare, hospital leaders typically focus their attention on the clinicians who deliver care and the processes used to administer that care. But one collaboration among providers aims to share innovations in another aspect of the quality equation: the hospital building itself.The Pebble Project, a research program run by the nonprofit Center for Health Design, lets hospitals compare building designs that have sparked measurable improvements in care quality and financial performance. Participating hospitals-currently 37 across the country-share design project findings in both an online forum and during two to three meetings per year. Launched in 2000, the program also gives providers access to consulting and technical assistance.So what does a pebble have to do with anything? The project's premise is that each facility, or "pebble," can create a ripple effect in the healthcare community by providing examples of organizations that have improved the quality of care by changing their physical environments, says Debra J. Levin, president of the Center for Health Design based in Concord, Calif. Those improvements may take any number of forms, from lower noise levels to reduced nursing turnover to improved patient satisfaction scores."We realized that if we could build a database of evidence-based design, we could effect change on a much broader scale," Levin says. "We're looking for organizations trying to build something unique, not just trying to build a 1950s hospital bigger."The program requires a minimum three-year commitment at a cost of $30,000 per year for providers and $35,000 for manufacturers. But Cheryl Herbert, president of the new Dublin (Ohio) Methodist Hospital, says the benefits justify the investment. Part of the nonprofit OhioHealth system, Dublin Methodist is still in the building phase and is scheduled to open this November with 94 staffed beds. The exposure to healthcare design research and a community of like-minded hospitals has been a "tremendous benefit" for her Pebble Project facility throughout the process of envisioning, designing and constructing a peaceful, patient-friendly environment, Herbert says. "Those are not resources that most organizations would go out and chase individually."Dublin Methodist's design features will include acuity-adaptable rooms to lessen the need to move patients as their conditions change. The 300,000-square-foot facility will also employ noise-reducing features such as a wireless communications system to eliminate overhead paging and sound-absorbing floors and ceilings. Decentralized nursing stations will put nurses closer to both patients and supplies, and a resource center will give patients and family members disease-specific educational materials along with access to online support groups.Participating in the project demonstrates a commitment to progressive design that can yield philanthropic rewards, as well, Herbert adds. "People like contributing to things that are new and innovative," she says. "The Pebble Project allows you to position yourself in that manner."
-Jay Moore
Magazine
