Military to revamp hospitals

Apr 24 2007

In a memo issued in January, the U.S. Department of Defense instructed design teams to apply evidence-based design principles for all new military medical construction projects.

This comes at a time when the Military plans to build three new significant hospitals.

The Military Health System (MHS) credits the work of The Center for Health Design (CHD), a leading nonprofit research, education, and advocacy organization, as being instrumental in helping make the commitment to incorporate evidence-based design principles into the new facilities.

This decision affects an Army, Navy and Air Force patient population of 9.2 million beneficiaries both in the U.S. and world-wide through a $39 billion dollar healthcare system consisting of a network of 70 military hospitals, over 500 military health clinics, and the Department's extensive private sector health care partners.

"I am very excited that our work has captured the attention of the forward thinkers in the armed forces who have championed this and that we are being recognized for our contribution to this groundbreaking decision," said Debra Levin, CHD President.

"MHS has the opportunity to adopt new models of care and create a once in a lifetime permanent legacy that can transform healthcare for millions around the world. CHD looks forward to partnering with MHS to help improve the patient experience for our troops, their families, and the staff that take care of them."

Evidence-based design is an emerging science used to create environments that are therapeutic, supportive of family involvement, efficient for staff performance, and restorative for workers and patients under stress. Research shows that the physical environment plays a large role in overall patient safety and experience and that organizations that implement evidence-based design concepts in their new buildings see improvement in patient care and staff loyalty, medical outcomes, and institutional productivity, as well as a decrease in medical errors and waste.

CHD has a major multiyear research initiative called the Pebble Project, made up of more than 40 leading healthcare providers who have committed to improve the patient care environment. The Center also publishes research papers and books, and offers educational speakers and programs on various aspects of evidence-based design.