By Dan Hounsell

Creating healing environments in healthcare facilities involves much more than ensuring all the latest technology is in place.

Zeke Triana, the head of facilities, planning, design, and construction at Cedars-Sinai in California, planning the organization’s hospital room design required a patient-centered care philosophy applicable to building a good hospital environment, according to Patient Management HIT.

The hospital environment is going to supplement that care. Environment is a critical measure in patient experience and satisfaction, landing a key spot in most patient sentiment surveys.

So when Cedars-Sinai set out to rebuild Marina del Rey Hospital, Triana knew the process was going to have to be both provider- and patient-centric. Creating a hospital room is more than regular construction. Instead, it requires buy-in from an entire team of patients, their advocates, providers, and architects to create a space that is functional and can promote healing.

For example, starting with the high-rise hospital’s nine floors, Triana made sure there was a good view from every window. And the design and landscape teams created a canopy of trees throughout the hospital parking lot, helping to provide shade and making the space look more akin to a park than a sea of cars.