Interview with our client: Caren J. Bock, MSN, MBA, MHA, RN, CPN Regional Manager, Children’s Services Pediatric ED, Peds, PICU, NICU
Dänay Design™: Why did you decide to renovate? Caren: We went through a long process of improving our internal operations and we wanted our external image to reflect that.
Dänay Design™: What were your objectives and were they achieved? Caren: Our objective was to bring compassion to our patients not just through our staff but also through the artwork that we wanted to produce. Our walls were not up to par with the excellent service that we offer so it was fitting to now work on the external image. We wanted to complement our walls to reflect a caring and compassionate atmosphere. The underwater theme was composed of all kinds of sea creatures which exuded compassion though their eyes, the positioning of their body language with their young ones. The whole atmosphere is captivating and everywhere you turn, the images grab your attention. The attention to detail draws visitors, patients and employees closer just to capture the intricacy of the art work. It makes them pause and remove themselves from the anxiety of being in a hospital setting. As a result the objective was achieved.
Dänay Design™: How were family, patients, and/or staff involved in the process? Caren: There was involvement from the pediatric staff on selecting appropriate sea creatures that would be designated to each room. The medical team have a sense of what kids consider scary so that made it helpful in the selection. Our hallways are lined up with portholes of pictures that reflect our pediatric activities. Our staff wanted to tell a story through the hallways and so the idea of porthole frames through every hallway came to life with careful selections of photography throughout the years.
Dänay Design™: How has the design impacted the families, patients, and/or staff? Caren: Not only is this an added way to comfort patients and their families, but nurses, staff and physicians express that they enjoy coming to work more and feel more calm in general with the color scheme and calming effect of water swirling down the hallways. We believe our pediatric patients will feel the difference in the level of care they receive and have less trepidation to return to the “Feel Better Castle” should the need arise. We want to be the Community Hospital that you know will go the extra mile to make you feel comfortable and cared for.