Space Use and the Physical Attributes of Acute Care Units: A Quantitative Study

Abstract

This article shares the results of a quantitative analysis of the space use and physical attributes of 140 acute care units (ACU) completed since 2007. Objective: To fill a gap in the literature with respect to the state of practice for ACU design over the study period by investigating relationships among the physical characteristics and density of completed ACUs. Background: Robust industry interest about the topic—further agitated by the dearth of large-scale quantitative research regarding ACU space use—motivated completion of the study. Method: Through extraordinary collaboration by participating firms, floor plans of 140 new ACUs from the study period were gathered, systematically measured, and then analyzed. Results: Structural bay size, nurse station location, and the number of beds per unit were found to have significant relationships to ACU floor-gross area per bed. Additionally, nine significant associations among the explanatory variables were found, including moderate relationships among bay size, nurse station location, room handedness, and toilet room placement. Conclusion: The results suggest that project design teams tend to bundle key physical attributes together when planning ACUs. Moreover, density increases resulting from bay size reduction diminish as the bay size drops below 31′. Any impacts resulting from the major external events demarking the last decade were not sufficient to appreciably affect ACU density. Lastly, those concerned with increasing density and controlling ACU floor gross area are alerted to explore design options featuring bay sizes of approximately 30′ in conjunction with a centralized nursing model containing more than 32 beds per unit.

Analysis of Functional Layout in Emergency Departments (ED). Shedding Light on the Free Standing Emergency Department (FSED) Model

“…Naturally, the aim is not to evaluate an Emergency Department solely on the basis of its area due to different starting conditions. However, the study of the area element is commonly considered in the research and practical environment to be a very valuable tool for assessing the accuracy of a design, and therefore benchmark strategies on this element have been adopted for data analysis [23][24][25]. The area specification, especially shown as a percentage of the total area, can help to point out several principal relations.…”

Analyzing design and planning trends in medical research laboratories and workplace environments: A benchmarking study

“…Standardized definitions and practical training are necessary for successful and comparable benchmarking efforts. Permission barriers and the fear of losing a competitive advantage in the market have resulted in a reluctance to share benchmarking data in the building industry (Kahn et al, 2002;Kelly & Pingel, 2022). Therefore, addressing these challenges is crucial for effective benchmarking and to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration within the industry.…”

A Comparison of Hospital Area Measurement in Germany, Canada, Australia, and the United States: Part 1

“…In response to these challenges, several countries have created hospital area measurement standards. These standards enable organizations to facilitate accurate and reliable benchmarking to support their hospital planning and management endeavors ( Kelly & Pingel, 2021 ; Lavy et al, 2019 ; Pingel, 2021 ). However, many organizations work in international contexts and lack clarity in how to measure and analyze hospital areas across countries.…”