On May, 2, 2009 Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh opened the doors to a new facility. The old St. Francis Hospital was converted to a new pediatric hospital. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh was designed by Astorino, the full-service architectural and engineering firm. Astorino created this state of the art facility by utilizing a unique process that gained insights into the hearts and minds of patients, families and staff. The result is a hospital that meets the deepest needs of all who will inhabit this 10-acre campus for generations to come.
Nurses are getting older and fewer young professionals are entering the field of nursing. As a result, meeting the needs of these older nurses has become an issue in healthcare today. Astorino interviewed several nurses to find out what issues they had at work. It was from their input that Astorino attempted to solve these problems through innovative design.
Heavy lifting, inconvenient work stations and labor-intensive equipment were some of the results from the interview. With this in mind, Astorino used its experience in architecture and design to lessen the physical burden that occurs on a daily basis in the field of nursing.
According to, Astorino several features that benefit nurses directly are:
- Computerized room-level observation stations and decentralized nurses’ stations allow caregivers to closely monitor and remain in close proximity of patient
As a seasoned nurse, I feel that these are all an excellent benefits. Supplies at my fingertips, computerized charting and wireless phones to communicate, all I can say is WOW! These features have been a long time in coming to the nursing profession.
Resources:
http://discoverdesignbuild.com/?p=143
http://www.gofathom.com/
