Bob Humenn, Director of Healthcare Strategy at Margulies Perruzzi, has spent more time at hospitals over the past few weeks than he’s spent at home. He is helping them increase the number of beds, create “pop-up” clinics, and set up testing sites. According to Bob, “it is humbling to see the dedication of healthcare workers putting their health and lives at risk every day. While you’re there, it makes you wish that you could do more.”
According to Bob, the Department of Public Health (DPH) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have been very accommodating, issuing blanket waivers to allow hospitals to create testing sites and pop-up clinics in non-clinical areas and to add beds in alternative locations such as recovery areas instead of private rooms. Bob has worked with Milford Regional Medical Center for twenty years and is one of the hospitals that Bob has assisted in addressing COVID-19 through the following strategic initiatives.
Emergency Department Patients To handle an influx in emergency department patients with COVID-19 symptoms, Margulies Perruzzi worked with Hospital staff to create an Alternate Treatment Area (ATA) in the parking area directly below the Emergency Department (ED). Walk-in ED patients will be triaged at the entry vestibule for Covid-19 symptoms and if appropriate, they will be sent down to the ATA for testing and treatment. The ATA has twenty bays for treatment and space for portable x-ray. The goal is rapid assessment, testing, and discharge within an hour of arrival. Margulies Perruzzi provided guidance on patient flow, regulatory guidelines and design and the ATA was constructed by Consigli Construction using a modular wall system. Cubicle curtains are free-standing and created from electrical conduit for the frame and curtain.
Inpatient Beds Guided by the directives issued by The Department of Public Health and CMS, Margulies Perruzzi worked with Milford Regional to develop a strategic plan for the anticipated surge of hospital patients. COVID-19 patients will be grouped in existing medical/surgical, progressive care and intensive care nursing units. If needed, non-COVID-19 ICU patients will be cared for in the PACU, using two bays to provide needed clearance between patients, while other non-COVID-19 patients will be cared for in alternate areas such as Infusion and Endoscopy.
Patients Requiring Post-Acute Rehabilitation There may be patients that are recovering from COVID-19 and would normally be discharged to a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF). If the SNF is not able to admit a COVID-19 patient, MRMC is prepared to rehabilitate these patients. The Hospitalists, Nursing and Rehabilitation Services collaborated to develop a plan to manage patients requiring physical, occupational and speech therapies in order to maximize the patient’s abilities to move from hospital to home. Margulies Perruzzi worked with MRMC staff to develop options for temporary transitional care units for these patients. The main goal will be ensuring the patients continue to regain their strength in order to return to their baseline before discharge home.
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the design of health care facilities. The dynamic nature of the pandemic has required our teams to be flexible and highly creative in addressing the needs of our clients in support of those healthcare providers on the front lines. As we ride the flattened curve of infection our focus is shifting to the safe re-activation of the healthcare system to begin seeing non-emergency cases, primary care visits and elective procedures to a broad range of healthcare facilities that until recently have been prepared for COVID-19 patient over flow. Margulies Perruzzi is working to develop strategies utilizing infection control measures and design flexibility to address the complexities of reactivating the hospital in the coming weeks and to better position our community for future pandemics .
This space was designed for maximum flexibility to accommodate the changing needs of the COVID-19 pandemic.*closer view* Space designed for maximum flexibility to accommodate the changing needs of COVID-19 pandemic.
More information and articles published from the MP Healthcare studio posted regularly.
Additionally, The AIA COVID-19 Task Force (including MP’s John Fowler) has published tools to assess and catalog the adaptive reuse of buildings as Alternative Care Sites. We are extremely grateful for all of the hard work and sacrifice healthcare professionals are putting in on the front lines of this pandemic and are looking for more ways to support them whenever we can.
MP recently published a report with survey results, “COVID-19 AND THE FUTURE OF THE WORKPLACE WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?” Download by clicking here.
Architecture firm expands healthcare studio
BOSTON, Jan. 22,, 2020 /PRNewswire/ —Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, is pleased to announce that its healthcare studio continues to grow and expand its scope of services with the addition of Bob Humenn, AIA as Director of Healthcare Strategy. Bob joins Jason Costello, AIA, EDAC and John Fowler, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, in leading the healthcare studio at MP. Bob will strengthen the strategic master planning and long-range planning capabilities while serving as an additional client resource in clinical programming and planning.
“Bob’s expertise will benefit our clients during the strategic planning and programming phases, helping them to align their capital investments with clinical growth as reimbursements and healthcare reform continue to evolve,” said Jason Costello, AIA, EDAC, associate principal at Margulies Perruzzi. “His leadership and design skills, combined with his practical, hands-on focus, will play an integral role in the continued growth of our healthcare practice.”
With extensive experience in the field of healthcare planning and design, Bob was an executive principal at Steffian Bradley Architects (SBA) in Boston where he was the lead medical planner, programmer and designer. While at SBA he worked on the 54,000 SF cancer center for the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center at Milford Regional Medical Center in Milford, Mass.; a 65,000 SF cancer center and 75,000 SF adjoining medical office building for the Hospital of Central Connecticut Cancer Center for Hartford Healthcare in New Britain, Conn.; a special care nursery and NICU for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston; and a new musculoskeletal ambulatory surgery center and medical office building for New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.
Bob fuels his passion for the for the industry as a member of the American Society of Healthcare Engineering (ASHE/NEHES), the National Council for Architectural Research Boards (NCARB), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) where he is the past chairman of the Healthcare Facilities Committee.
“We’re pleased to be able to offer our Healthcare, Science, Workplace and Real Estate clients the high level of expertise critical to the success of their missions,” said Marc Margulies, FAIA, LEED AP, principal and senior partner at Margulies Perruzzi. “The healthcare industry is growing at a rapid rate, and innovation and new thinking are no longer optional. Our mission is to provide forward thinking content from experts in the field that inspire and provide actionable insights to healthcare leaders who are responsible for facilities looking to grow, expand and keep up with the rising number of people coming through their doors.”
While healthcare is an expertise unto itself, the team at MP is rethinking what a healthcare space looks and feels like by leveraging best practices from every discipline, Workplace, Science and Real Estate Development, and applying them to healthcare design. By designing and creating spaces that physically and emotionally communicate each client’s goal, MP strives to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, attract and retain high performing teams, and maximize clinical efficiency.
“Our team has delivered healthcare projects of increasingly sophisticated scope and scale in both the inpatient and ambulatory markets, while offering a unique advantage for clinical administration solutions for specific departments as well as entire healthcare systems,” said John Fowler, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, associate principal at Margulies Perruzzi. “The deep knowledge Bob brings to complex clinical departments like surgery and new interventional radiology suites will allow us to provide our clients with creative solutions to their most complex challenges in the heart of the hospital.”
Some current healthcare projects include:
Harvard Street Community Health Center (Dorchester, Mass.) A new 25,000 SF community health center will address deficiencies associated with the current health center building, which is outdated and in need of repair. The new health center will enhance the patient experience by addressing space configuration concerns, leveraging new technology, and allowing for the co-location and integration of Primary care and behavioral health services. Finally, this new building will afford HSNHC additional opportunities to serve the community through the incorporation of a teaching kitchen, education/conference center and food pantry etc.
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center Endoscopy Suite (Burlington, Mass.) New 13,500 SF endoscopy suite utilizes emerging, state-of-the-art “pass-through and tracking” scope processing technologies to reduce the risk of infection and provide better patient care. Designing the facility with the first-of-its-kind equipment required strategic planning and coordination by the design team, and marks only the second installation of the sophisticated technology in the U.S.
Southern Maine Health Care Inpatient Behavioral Health Units (Sanford, Maine) A 25,000 SF renovation of the existing inpatient hospital to improve regional access to behavioral healthcare. MaineHealth is relocating the existing 12-bed adult behavioral healthcare unit from Biddeford to Sanford and expanding the number of beds to a total of 40 In partnership with Array Architects, the project brings a welcoming feel to a complex and challenging program with access to new exterior roof deck.
Sturdy Memorial Hospital (Attleboro, Mass.) New construction of a 29,000 SF medical office building to increase capacity for orthopedics, physical therapy, primary care, rheumatology clinic, and patient service center.
MP’s scope of services includes programming and planning, site evaluation and clinical test fits, ground up construction, interior design, sustainable design, WELL Building, and LEAN process improvement.
About Margulies Perruzzi As one of New England’s top architectural and interior design firms, Margulies Perruzzi (MP) designs Workplace, Health+Science, and Real Estate projects that inspire and nurture human endeavor. More information may be found at http://mparchitectsboston.com.
