Pediatrics: Designing for the Whole Child

We design safe and holistic environments improving the lives of children.

CHILD LIFE
Visiting a hospital can be a scary and traumatic experience for children of all ages. Creating spaces and experiences that can positively impact the effect an illness or injury can have on the development of a child are at the core of any pediatric healing environment. This vision promotes the child life practice and strives to keep the patient at the center of design and care.

INTENSIVE CARE
Thoughtful design and expert coordination takes center stage in both neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. Equipment placement and room layout ensure a place where providers can administer the best possible care in the most critical of environments. Intensive care patient rooms also deserve the same attention to space allocation and amenities for families who will likely experience extended stays. Spaces dedicated to patient, family, and care team with integrated design elements to promote distraction and individual control of space. Additionally, infection prevention is enhanced by minimizing opportunities for transfer by touch and specifying materials suitable for low access areas and lessening the maintenance burden.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
Mental illness affects everyone—even the young. Our children need more mental health support than we are giving them. The design within pediatric behavioral health facilities must also ensure these spaces aid in developing a child’s coping skills so they can foster the competencies to manage their diagnoses.

CLINICAL
Ensuring a positive experience is essential. The clinical setting is often the first space patients and families will visit. Successful integration of clinic care models and design creates an environment centered around the patient.

SPORTS PERFORMANCE
These facilities bring together different departments—sports and health, injury and healing—in a shared footprint. When injuries occur, facilities need to have the specialized care spaces where youth athletes can get treatment tailored to their specific circumstances, not a one-size-fits-all approach.

PEDIATRIC RESEARCH
Pediatric research integrates research and clinical care. Translational research can be the foundation in which partnerships can be formed among health care professionals, researchers, patients and families. This approach further strengthens the interconnectedness and impact of a hospital’s clinical and research programs, bringing science to the bedside to accelerate the pace of discovery and enhance care.