American University of Armenia Health Care Facilities Responses
1st post Question title:How do hospitals possibly expect patients to perceive the health care facilities to be conducive for rehabilitation if those same facilities do not provide vital accessibility features for their rooms?
by Tevarus
In the assigned video, Michael Graves describes his battle with patient rooms as he learns to deal with his rare disease that paralyzed him from the middle of his chest down to his legs. He explains in a humorous way how the rehabilitation facility he resided in was poorly built for him and the 98 percent of total patients that were confined to wheelchairs. Simply put, neither the main rooms nor bathrooms were built with the patient accessibility in mind. Things like outlets, urine trays, trash cans, and even his own items were out of reach, consequently making his self-esteem plummet. For the remainder of the TED talk, he explains faults in the architecture in modern day hospitals as well as discussing his solutions to the lack of accessibility for the patients. Though hospitals have taken strides in the right direction since he has taken this initiative, I pose the question of trust and perception in said facilities. With this just becoming a topic of consideration in 2011, how do hospitals possibly expect patients(and their loved ones) to trust the health care facilities?
I believe Michael Graves’ revelation about patient rooms, as well as my posed question regarding the effect of the perception of these facilities, is important because if further exemplifies the lack of connection to patient and the lack of conciseness for rehabilitation(or treatment). The recurring theme with our previous Packback discussions is that hospitals and the health care industry have no connection to the actual patient the hospital is supposed to be treating. From questioning the industries’ information asymmetry to questioning the amount of concern in a patient’s wellbeing , we as a society have begun to recognize the faults in the health care industries motives and methods. We do this because we have begun to recognize that the health care industry, on every level, lacks the touch of the most important aspect…the patient. How can a person feel empowered and as if they are progressing back to some normalcy in their day-to-day lives if they can not access their toothbrushes and faucet from their wheelchairs? How helpless would you feel if you could not at least take care of your basic needs because the very place they were sent to rehabilitate is a constant reminder that you are disabled in the first place?
With this in mind, the health care industry would benefit from a drastic change in approach to their room layout. In my opinion, they should look to those who patients who are actually residing in the hospitals and rehabilitation centers for consultation on how to improve their layouts and architecture. Not only will this boost morale and empower those patients, who are already bogged down by their own traumas and medical conditions, but it will also help the world develop more trust in our health care system in the long run; consequently having a positive effect on health care marketing.
My source, an article from sciencedirect.com, explains the correlation between the physical environment of a patient and their actual recovery. If a patient is not in a true “healing environment” they will not only regress in recovery physically but emotionally and mentally as well. What this means in relation to Michael Graves’ TED talk is that if you want a patient to recover and feel empowered, make sure the room that are confined to is actually built for recovery and progression towards self-sufficiency.. not for good ratings on a magazine.
Discussion 2 Question title:How can health care facilities become more accessible to give proper care to the patients in need? Do the facilities need to re-think their plans and execute them differently?
by Meghan
In the assigned video, Michael Graves explains the great divide between accessibility and functionality in hospitals and rehab centers. Michael told his story about his injury and care. it was brought to his attention that the facilities he was in were very inaccessible to anyone in a wheelchair, which comprised most of their patients. He also goes on to explain how many facilities are focused on looks and money rather than their sole purpose, to care for patients.
This video makes me think about the pure lack of thought put into these facilities. Why would a rehab center for wheelchair users not have furniture that caters to their needs? Why cant a patient have access to facilities that are built to cater to the patients rather than the hospital’s profits or looks? Overall, this video made me think about how hospitals and other medical facilities lack the basic resources needed to care for patients during their care even though the resources should be right there. Michael Graves suggested furniture solutions that are easy to use and have a sense of functionality. I think the best way to solve issues like such would be to contact patients such as Michael Graves. Create a survey to further understand the needs of accessibility for patients and how to improve. Involving patients will get to the root of the problem and bring up conflicts regarding the current layout of lights. I think after curating a blueprint of an accessible room, it would be beneficial to create a model room as Graves suggested and have architects be accompanied by a caretaker as they cater to a few different patients in the model.
This is important to healthcare marketing because it is important to constantly evolve the facilities and equipment to provide the most effective care for patients. When providing excellent care for patients they are more likely to come back to that facility or recommend it to others searching for one. In many cases, some patients are willing to talk to others about their experience of the facility’s behalf to explain why they should choose their treatment facility. If the facility is up to par and efficient then they will have plenty of business and patients will be satisfied with their care.
An additional resource to add to my discussion is the article from the Gebauer Company, which explains the importance of well-designed hospital rooms to create more productivity and efficiency. The article explains how rooms must be accessible to not only the patients but also to the staff so they also have the resources they need. Therefore, the design of the room within these facilities needs to be reviewed and changed, and executed more thoughtfully.
Question 3 Question title: Do Healthcare Facilities Put Too Much Time, Effort, and Money Into Aesthetics as Opposed to Patient Convenience?
by Destry
In the video engineer Michael Graves shares an eye opening experience with us. Due to some medical difficulties Graves became paralyzed from the chest down. During his time in a healthcare facility he began to notice how inconvenient a lot of things were for patients. Something as simple as brushing his teeth was difficult because of the placement of the knobs. It was here that he started to design things to make the experience better for patients. Graves mentioned something about an atrium and how it was one of the highlights of a healthcare facility. It was when he mentioned this, that my question for this discussion crossed my mind.
This makes me think about the local hospital in my home town of Adel Georgia. A few years ago the emergency room of our hospital shut down. This was due to the hospital losing money because of patients not paying their bills. This decision was made shortly before the proposal for a new hospital was approved at a city council meeting. When the proposal for the new hospital was approved there was one thing that shocked all citizens in the community. This brand new hospital was not going to have an emergency room!
Picture this, you walk into a hospital and you hear the beautiful sound of a piano. You look to your left and you see the piano, but something is off. There is no one at the piano. Surely this music is coming from a speaker. You walk over to the piano and you see the keys moving and you realize the darn thing is playing itself. Most people would think “how cool!”, but not the citizens of Adel. Everyone had the exact same thought, “yea this is cool, but why are we spending money on this when apparently we can’t afford to run an emergency room!”
This is important to healthcare marketing because of course marketing plays a huge role in the decisions made when it comes to aesthetics. We know that things that look good draw in a greater number of consumers. That being said, what are hospitals sacrificing to achieve things like curve appeal? Could the fancy chairs in the lobby be substituted for a cheaper chair in order to provide more comfortable wheelchairs for patients? My personal opinion I would rather see less money spent on comfortable seating, while more money is spent on interactive things in the lobby that teach those waiting about healthcare. What is most important is something that we learned in the video. Graves began designing things like furniture to make things more convenient for patients. This is a marketer’s dream, especially when it comes to healthcare marketing. These products are things that are highly marketable. Things that are marketable not only to those in healthcare facilities, but also those at home with health conditions.
While I am against time, money, and effort being put into aesthetics, the article I found gives some different insight on the matter. Provista’s article discusses some of the important things when it comes to curb appeal of healthcare facilities. It shows that these do matter to patients and can affect the overall experience of the visit. One example it gives is lighting. Exterior lighting, even lighting along walkways, can draw in patients because of the sense of safety it gives. All in all we see that you want your facility to be as inviting to patients as possible, even the exterior! I believe that healthcare facilities have to find a good balance of keeping an aesthetically pleasing facility, while at the same time considering all of the customers’ needs.
Source: Provista. “7 Ways to Improve Your Healthcare Facilitys Curb Appeal.” Provista, 20 Nov. 2021, “>https://www.provista.com/blog/blog-listing/7-ways-to-improve-your-healthcare-facilitys-curb-appeal .
