- Institutions such as hospitals may have previously been considered part of the AV market, but new applications of digital messaging and information retrieval are new enough and display-intensive enough to now be considered a growing part of the digital signage equation, as hospitals and other healthcare facilities race to upgrade their systems.
- Peter Christensen, senior healthcare consultant for Shen Milsom & Wilke, will speak on "The High-Tech Operating Room: Designing Technology to Improve Patient Care and OR Efficiency" from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. October 25 at the 19th Annual Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo at Chicago's Navy Pier.
- Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are competing for patients. Technologies set them apart and give them an edge, Christensen says. A well-designed, highly computerized operating room contributes to shortened patient recovery times and length of stay, facilitates minimally invasive surgeries, and reduces medical errors. On the facility side, properly designed technology boosts operating room efficiency and lowers costs.
- Designing a simple-to-use OR requires collaboration among healthcare practitioners, administrators, IT departments, technology consultants, and architects. It also requires flexibility; technology in medicine changes quickly and frequently. The architect and the technology designer help healthcare facility personnel decide what equipment they need, where it should be installed, and how the information that it generates can be integrated with the hospital information system.
- Using Memorial Sloan-Kettering's new high-technology ORs as examples, Christensen will focus on master planning, critical power, space requirements, coordinating work with the healthcare facility IT department, anticipating future needs, and innovative applications of technology. The talk will be helpful to healthcare executives, facility planners, designers and architects.
- Christensen will be accompanied by Daniel McGuirk, Manager of Technical Development for Minimally Invasive Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Shen Milsom & Wilke worked with Memorial Sloan-Kettering to design 21 new high-tech Ors, part of the hospital's new 72,000-square-foot surgical center that opened this summer.
- The firm provided multimedia and voice/data design, including the Wall of Knowledge--four large, wall-mounted flat-panel displays that include complete, real-time patient information. The "knowledge" displayed on the wall is generated by diverse information systems, physiological monitors, and medical devices. It also includes video of the ongoing surgery, current laboratory data, and radiology images. This technology gives surgeons and nurses a visual image of the operation, as well as constantly updated information on a patient's status.
- The Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo offers 68 educational sessions on a range of healthcare topics, including sustainable design and master planning. Attendees can earn continuing education credits and tour several Chicago healthcare facilities.
- More at: www.hcarefacilities.com
