Design That Cares: Planning Health Facilities for Patients and Visitors (Paperback)

by Janet Reizenstein Carpman (Author), Myron A. Grant (Author) "Society in the United States is in transition..." (more)
Key Phrases: see research box, health care facility design, facility design research, University of Michigan, New York City, Ann Arbor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A breakthrough in the health care field. I hope designers will use it as a guide and academics as a stepping stone to further research in the health care field. -- Interiors, 3/87

A substantial contribution to architectural theory in its questioning of traditional design methods. -- Progressive Architecture, 1/87

An extremely valuable and unusual contribution to the field of health care facility design...all members of the hospital planning team should have this book on their 'required reading' list. -- Canadian Journal of Public Health, 8/87

It should inspire designers and researchers alike... The authors offer us an example of design that is willing to take up the mess of being human, and make it better. -- ID, Magazine of International Design, 6/87

The most comprehensive blueprint yet drawn for tailoring the design of Health Care facilities... to the measure of the people they most intimately affect. -- Architectural Record, 6/86

Product Description
With increasingly sophisticated medical technology and the need to contain health care costs, the human needs of health care consumers are often forgotten. By balancing an extensive research base with a focus on design decision-making, this book presents a new and timely approach to the design of health care facilities design that not only cares for patients and visitors, design that also cares about them.

Design that Cares is for administrators, trustees, planners, architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, members of citizens' committees, health care delivery staff those who through policy, management and planning shape what a health facility will be. Whether embarking on the construction of a waiting room, or a multimillion dollar new facility, the design issues discussed in Design that Cares are pertinent and helpful.

Design that Cares brings together, for the first time, what is known about the design-related needs of patients and visitors, and in so-doing, provides a basis for future inquiry. Much of it grew out of an award-winning, five-year behavioral design research and advocacy project involving more than 3,000 patients and visitors in 33 separate studies at the University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor. The book also draws upon an extensive review of the published literature by other researchers and designers.

Design that Cares begins with a look at the need for humanistic health facility design. The eight chapters that follow focus on the patient's and visitors' journey through a generic facility, laying out the design and behavior issues that need to be considered: planning for arrival and exterior wayfinding, interior wayfinding and the circulation system, waiting and reception areas, diagnostic and treatment areas, inpatient rooms and baths.

Gaining access to nature, special design needs of the elderly and of users with impairments, special places such as the emergency department, and special services such as provisions for overnight accommodations are also discussed. A final chapter describes ways in which users can participate in facility design and the benefits of their involvement.

Each design chapter contains three specific aids for the reader. Nearly 750 Design Guidelinesprovide suggestions on facility design with detailed information about the issues being discussed. Research Boxes highlight relevant research findings (in plain English) and give examples of the potential role of research in design. Design Review Questions serve as a quick checklist for evaluating health facilities before, during, and after construction.

Design that Cares was the winner of the prestigious Applied Research Award from ProgressiveArchitecture magazine, and the Best of Category Research Award from ID, Magazine of International Design.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Amer Hospital Pub; 2nd edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556481063
• ISBN-13: 978-1556481062
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,036,617 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why aren't there more books like this?, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

I design buildings for a living and this book has permanently changed my outlook. Although about health care buildings, it's a blueprint for thinking about the needs of building occupants for any kind of institution. The authors obviously understand building users better than anyone I've ever dealt with. There are great insights in every chapter, and the sidebars alone are a great education. In my opinion this is required reading for architects and facility managers. The 2nd edition is even better than the first.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for healthcare thesis project, March 26, 2008

By	mvo (IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Design That Cares: Planning Health Facilities for Patients and Visitors (J-B AHA Press) (Paperback)

I found this book in my college library and found it invaluable. I knew I would buy it, but was forced sooner than later because I could not keep renewing it. That's ok! It really is a great tool for my interior design senior thesis project.