Process Led Design

Through the years, our commitment to better understand the increasingly complex healthcare environment has propelled Aware-Concepts, Inc. to the industry’s forefront as a leader in creating operationally responsive design solutions.  Armed with specific training and experience in healthcare design, Aware Concepts, Inc. is comprised of hospital administrators and clinicians, and our Healthcare Design Teams are uniquely qualified to address the intricacies of operational function while understanding the impact of the physical environment on patient and financial outcomes.

Aware believes that planning and design is a collaborative process that requires participation from designated stakeholders as well as the entire project team.  Aware-Concepts harnesses the talent and knowledge of the hospital’s staff through the use of an approach known as Process Led Planning & Design.  Multidisciplinary study teams, comprised of key hospital personnel, are critical to the development of optimized operational processes for the areas involved in new construction and/or renovation of existing spaces.  These optimized processes incorporate a vast array of programming considerations to include safety, security, patient zoning/privacy, vehicular zoning, wayfinding, patient access, family support systems and staff efficiency.  By synthesizing the operational processes into consensus-driven concepts and initiatives, operationally responsive design concepts are developed within the constraints of existing and/or expanded space as budgeted.

The first step in Process Led Design is to organize the project.  A strong and empowered leadership or steering committee first establishes the vision for the project.  Additionally, guiding principals and objectives are developed so that all stakeholders understand the scope and direction of the project.

Next, departmental/service line analysis begins with a clinical review of current operations, patient flow and patient volumes.  This occurs in the multidisciplinary team meetings.  Flowcharts are developed to provide a visual representation of the current operations, and an analysis is performed to identify gaps in the process and/or facility within the context of current and projected trends in healthcare. 

Following the examination of current processes, the multidisciplinary study teams are then commissioned to develop optimized processes (flowcharts) that incorporate strategic, operational and patient focused guiding principles as prescribed by the project objectives.  This is accomplished by:

• Suggesting processes that impact healthcare delivery through operational efficiency as well as design.
• Pro-active forecasting of key community needs and service drivers that will ensure the facility’s success.
• Understanding and prioritizing capital investments and strategic initiatives such as service lines, information systems, telemedicine, equipment, real estate acquisitions, etc.
• Balancing the facility/system needs with the strategic needs, capital budget and available technologies and resources.
• Optimizing the future by providing an infrastructure and operational platform that supports information systems strategies, technologies and technology implementation plans.
• Exploring consolidation and integration strategies related to key hospital support functions such as supply chain logistics, admission/discharge/transfer systems, bed control and transportation.
• Incorporating optimized processes into operational programs in order to develop facility response solutions that functionally improve the delivery of healthcare. 
• Examining opportunities for the consolidation of similar departments into service delivery centers that create staffing efficiencies and improve patient satisfaction by optimizing flow(s) within service lines.   

The project steering committee then reviews all concepts and initiatives suggested by the multidisciplinary study teams relative to the project vision statement, guiding principles and objectives.  The finalized project concepts and initiatives are then approved by the steering committee and serve to guide the Healthcare Design Team in the development of operationally responsive, flexible and sustainable planning and design solutions.