After Hurricane Katrina demolished New Orleans' Veterans Affairs Hospital in 2005, hospital executives, architects and designers spent three years speaking with veterans and VA staff members to redesign the hospital from the ground up, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The new Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care Systems, which opened outpatient services last fall, contains nine buildings, 200 beds and 1.6 million square feet of space. The hospital will gradually introduce other services in the upcoming months before launching full operations by the end of this summer, according to the report.
Kirk Hamilton, a professor of health facility design at Texas A&M University, told WSJ the new facility and its inclusive design process serves as a "fabulously appropriate model for all future VA hospitals."
Here are nine design features at the hospital.
1. Social spaces. Veterans told the design team they view hospitals as a location to socialize with other like-minded individuals. The hospital contains clusters of furniture to encourage conversation among patients.
2. Furniture. As veterans have high rates of disability and obesity, designers chose hospital furniture based on stability and extra width, with large arm rests that allow patients to sit and pull themselves up, according to WSJ.
3. Patient rooms. All patient rooms are identical, private rooms that can be converted into two rooms to house family members or be used for an additional patient in an emergency. Nurse stations are located in the middle of every four rooms to boost interactions between patients and staff, according to the report.
4. Courtyard. The hospital contains six large courtyards to serve as areas for rest and contemplation. While the designers originally chose bamboo for the gardens, they switched to indigenous New Orleans plants after realizing bamboo could prove stressful to Vietnam veterans.
5. Concourse. The concourse offers a clear, straight path through all areas of the hospital, which simplifies navigation and limits the amount of blind corners that may produce anxiety in veterans. Staircases were also built straight — with no "switchback" — so patients can see what's ahead of them, reports WSJ.
6. Color. The designers avoided using tan, Army green and gray colors, which can create stress for veterans. The hospital features softer colors to promote relaxation.
7. Chapels. Veterans took particular attention to the design of the chapels during the design process, according to the report. The hospital grounds contains two chapels, both of which look out onto courtyards.
8. Emergency preparedness. The hospital is built to withstand hurricanes and other extreme weather. Essential building systems like water, steam and power, are on the fourth floor to avoid flood damage. Critical clinical functions are housed at least 21 feet above the basic flood elevation, as well, notes WSJ.
9. Bathrooms. Since most patients travel more than an hour the reach the hospital, and veterans have a higher incontinence rate than everyday citizens, bathrooms are located inside the parking garage and at each of the hospital's three main entrances.
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