by Mary Bamborough, IIDA Quick – how many facilities can you think of that are used 24/7, 365 days per year? Perhaps your first thought was of a few megastore or convenience-store chains. Or maybe a prison. Recently, I traveled to Las Vegas, and have added casinos to the list. Most important on the list are hospitals. Fortunately for us, hospitals never close. Yet being open all the time takes its toll on the facility, as a wide range of workers are always on the job. It also poses maintenance challenges, because cleaning and other work needs to be done while care-related functions continue. These are just a few of the many challenges facing healthcare interior design today. There are a host of codes and regulations that must be adhered to, such as Public Health codes, Fire Marshal codes, HIPAA/privacy issues, and infection-control constraints, just to
.. more»