OWP/P

Better healthcare by designOWP/PÔÇÖs healthcare practice director Deb Sheehan tells Keith Regan that the firm focuses on the care itself first and the bricks and mortar second. OWP/P has carved out a global reputation for its integrated architecture, interior design, engineering and consulting work to clients worldwide. From office locations in Chicago and Phoenix, the firm serves clients in the corporate/commercial and educational sectors as well as in healthcare, where about 80 of the firmÔÇÖs 330 professionals have a track record of designing projects that win accolades not only for their aesthetics but for how they improve the delivery of healthcare. Several OWP/P projects have been recognized by Modern Healthcare magazine, notes Deb Sheehan, national director of healthcare for the 50-year-old firm. ÔÇ£We take pride in that because itÔÇÖs more than just a beauty contest,ÔÇØ Sheehan says. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs accolades for performance as well as aesthetics.ÔÇØ That in turn drives not only repeat customers but new business from referrals. ÔÇ£When executive teams are looking for recommendations, they are very interested when they hear that a project might have reduced overhead costs or increased employee satisfaction.ÔÇØ OWP/PÔÇÖs outcome-based approach means that there are times when it may even recommend that a prospective client not build or expand. Before pencil is put to paper on a design, the firm does an extensive process mapping program that turns the focus squarely onto the operational outcomes desired. ÔÇ£They may think thereÔÇÖs a facilities solution theyÔÇÖre looking for; before a client goes down that path, we try to take a step back and digest and understand what the exact problem is they are trying to solve,ÔÇØ Sheehan says. ÔÇ£We may end up telling them that itÔÇÖs not a brick-and-mortar solution theyÔÇÖre seeking at all, but an operational tweak or modification that can give them the capacity they need.ÔÇØThat work is done through an in-house programming group that works within the healthcare studio and includes former nurses, hospital administrators and other executives who have worked on the healthcare provider side and understand the types of metrics that a healthcare facility wants and needs to track. ÔÇ£Our solutions are successful because they are informed at a stature and depth that goes far beyond the architectural or engineering considerations,ÔÇØ she adds. OWP/PÔÇÖs entire process for advancing architects recognizes the value of not only specialization but sub-specialties in areas that enable those professionals to stay abreast of rapidly changing industry expectations. After they have been working for eight years, architects at the firm are asked to declare a major area of focus. A few years later, they are asked to select a specialty within that area. Sheehan equates the process to declaring a major and minor course of study in college. Minors might include medical imaging technologies, emergency or pandemic planning, womenÔÇÖs health, neurosciences or orthopedics. ÔÇ£There is so much information that changes so rapidly, so this enables people to keep up with whatÔÇÖs going on in their specialty,ÔÇØ she notes. Architects invest in their specialty focus by attending conferences, conducting research and reviewing periodicals in their focus areas, enabling them to keep current with practical and technological changes. The approach reflects a deeper philosophy of investing heavily in ongoing education and training at the firm, which invests three-quarters of a million dollars each year this way. In addition to outside conferences and training opportunities, the firm has a learning lab space on the studio floor where new products are beta-tested and new solutions can be test-driven. Featured subjects are rotated through the learning lab every couple of months, and guest speakers and experts from the field are brought in to critique and teach on a regular basis. ÔÇ£In the healthcare space, if youÔÇÖre out of the loop for even six months, you can quickly fall behind the changes taking place.ÔÇØ OWP/P does its own research, following up on its projects six months, twelve months and two years after theyÔÇÖre completed to find out from the people using the facilities how the designs and approaches used have impacted care delivery. Beyond the healthcare practice, OWP/P has been a leader in the green design movement, and that is now gaining traction with healthcare clients as well, with seven projects done under the healthcare practice having been certified or seeking certification as LEED buildings by the US Green Building Council. OWP/P designed what will be the first LEED GoldÔÇôrated hospital in Illinois when it opens in 2009. While some parts of the healthcare industry had resisted green design techniques at first, Sheehan has seen the tide shift recently due to improved environmentally friendly construction products that are certified for use in healthcare spaces. ÔÇ£WhatÔÇÖs finally getting through as evidence is that the impact of energy-conscious design on operational savings is finally being realized. ItÔÇÖs now clear that moves made in the building engineering can yield sizeable savings.ÔÇØ Savings of 12ÔÇô18 percent in some areas have been achieved, and there are often other benefits as well. For instance, simply by switching from always-on lighting to lights with motion sensors can not only cut electricity bills but also help patients recover more quickly by enabling their natural circadian rhythms to reset themselves. Recent projects to win accolades include the Froedtert Hospital & Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center, where the firm designed a 466,000-square-foot project that was just completed in May of this year. The facility, designed to take maximum advantage of natural lighting, has been registered with the Center for Health Design as a Pebble project conducting research on the impact of design on clinical outcomes. ┬á┬á┬áAnother project Sheehan points to as exemplary of the firmÔÇÖs work is slated to open in 2009. Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and ChildrenÔÇÖs Hospital Patient Care Tower in Park Ridge, Illinois, is a combination renovation and expansion project that will change the way care is delivered across a number of specialties.That project brings to mind an experience Sheehan had as a young architect that helped convince her to pursue a career in healthcare design. During a tour of a neonatal intensive care unit, Sheehan saw a couple holding a baby in what is otherwise a sterile and restricted environment. ÔÇ£They told us that the baby had minutes to live, and I noticed as I looked across the room how much equipment was jammed in there. Parents were standing back to back, and life support machines were almost stacked on top of one another. I thought to myself, ÔÇÿWe can do better than this for each other,ÔÇÖÔÇØ Sheehan recalls. ÔÇ£We have no desire to be the big high-design firm that gobbles up work and keeps moving; we make significant and memorable spaces for the healthcare projects we do and maybe make a small difference in the lives of those who interact with those spaces.ÔÇØ┬á