Reduce Barriers - Invite Healing (Part 1)
A Three Part Series Dedicated to Patient Care
A cancer diagnosis entangles patients in a world of treatment, surgery and medications. Experiencing this new “normal,” for individuals and families, can feel confusing and scary. Sparrow Health System’s new Herbert-Herman Cancer Center is dedicated to reducing patient stress by instilling confidence and easing worry.
Early in planning, the Herbert-Herman Cancer Center was, in part, the vision of radiation oncologist James Herman, M.D. Wearing blazing-red framed spectacles and a smile that warms a room, Dr. Herman speaks of patient comfort and quality of care. “Our key focus was on accessibility for patients and functionality to offer multi-disciplinary care.”
Stress-Reducing Spaces
So how do you reduce patient worries and simultaneously provide a highly functional treatment space? You create a facility with fewer barriers, driven by safety and adorned with thoughtful art.
It is widely known that cancer can feel like a solitary disease and treatment with radiation means time isolated inside a radiation vault. What if this space could be more open, welcoming, healing?
After planning for the Herbert-Herman Cancer Center radiation vaults, obstacles were identified that could put the brakes on construction.
Facing the Challenge
The new building required radiation protection for Caregivers, the public and patients. For every project there is a convergence of materials selected (including required medical equipment) and available space that influences construction. Space, materials and foundations were put under the microscope at the start. The situation:
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Sparrow’s tight urban site could only be positioned with vault placement near streets and local residents, requiring careful protections.
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The weight of the massive foundations and walls put extreme pressure on the basement.
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The amount of steel plate radiation shields in the three walls of the vault weighed as much as the entire structural steel framing.
The Christman Company’s project planning group got to work. The team led value analysis meetings and rethought layout to solve these critical challenges.
Value Analysis and New Solutions: How it Worked
The Christman Company identified a radiation shielding solution that could address each concern. The solution to reduce vault foundation mass, securely protect neighbors and provide additional patient space (increasing radiation room size) was found by selecting modular Veritas blocks. The team also discovered that by rotating the vaults 90 degrees, vaults could share shields, reducing the total number of steel plates.
The reductions of concrete and steel allowed radiation rooms to be larger. This also created the opportunity to include a maze-style entrance, rather than large radiation shielding doors. Radiation doors increase patient anxiety by creating the sense of confinement and isolation. Maze entrances reduce patient stress and fear.
Facility Advantages
Another benefit was the flexibility of block-construction, reducing barriers for future hospital expansion. High density, interlocking concrete Veritas blocks will allow planners to move equipment or replace large machinery in the future.
The reduction in materials allowed costs in the new design to remain the same as the original plan. Plus, the end result provided patients with a larger, less intimidating room with fewer doors.
Dr. Herman said, “The process to build a new facility will take longer than you imagine, so plan early. And work with partners that you can trust.” Team trust is the driver to solutions that reduce barriers.
Take a further look to see how this facility is positively impacting patient care.
Contact Christman’s Healthcare Services team if you would like to discuss opportunities for hospital-focused value analysis and constructability review by emailing John O’Toole, Vice President, Healthcare Services.