Image © Gensler
This post is part of a series related to Uniting Healthcare + Community.
Like healthcare, design is about the individuals who collectively make up the whole. One powerful thread carrying through this blog series has been the importance of the human experience; that healthcare providers need to connect with their communities at all scales and build improved experiences.
Bonny Slater 
Image © Gensler
This post is part of a series related to Uniting Healthcare + Community.
If you are a healthcare provider, you know it is no longer good enough to simply provide excellent medical care. The rapid growth and expansion of outpatient health care services have created a fiercely competitive market where patients (finally) have a choice. Hospital systems are becoming health systems with primary care networks; community clinics are expanding to vie for the growing insured populations; and disruptive retail and telehealth providers are filling the gaps with on-demand care. Add to this the rise of high-deductible health plans and patients not only have a choice in where they seek care—they are financially motivated to make informed decisions that maximize value. Patients have become consumers, and only the healthcare providers who understand what their patients really want will win their loyalty.
The Healthcare and Paradigm Shift, Image © Gensler
This post is part of a series related to Uniting Healthcare + Community.
Amid the hustle and bustle of the hospital lobby at University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), a healthy man spends many of his days with strangers-made-friends—the security guard, the little lady that runs the gift shop, and the customers at his favorite cookie stand. He’s there not out of obligation or necessity—he’s neither sick nor a hospital employee. He’s there for community. A few years back his wife had passed; he came back to the hospital to feel a connection to her. In doing so, he created community, through an unconventional way and in an unexpected place.
Image © Gensler
This post is part of a series related to Uniting Healthcare + Community.
Several months ago, my son fractured his wrist, precipitating a late-night trip to the emergency room. As we pulled up to our local hospital, which had recently undergone a major renovation, my husband and I were unable to find the entrance to the ER. After circling the campus several times, we decided to park the car and walk to the nearest building entry, trusting that whatever signage we found inside would direct us to where we needed to be inside the ten-headed monster of the main hospital building.
Chris Rzomp 
Image © Gensler
This post is part of a series related to Uniting Healthcare + Community.
In many places across the U.S., hospitals and healthcare systems are the largest employers in their regions. But are they true engines of economic development for their communities? Not always. Their limited influence is often the consequence of outdated planning strategies and tax laws. Now a bottom-up demand is creating a market for a more responsive and proactive model of healthcare delivery, sparking a revolution that will directly impact the planning and land use strategies used on major hospital campuses. Let’s look at how this situation has developed, and outline some solutions to address it.
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