![]() Providing a choice of dining environments makes a hospital a more pleasant place, especially for visitors spending multiple days at a facility where a loved one is being treated. ![]() As health care organizations look to use facility space more efficiently, dining rooms are becoming waiting rooms, Pinto-Alexander says. For health care providers, “promoting healthy choices while they have you in the system is part of the brand: taking care of people,” she says.Ĭafeteria design can improve the patient experience. ![]() Well-designed dining areas can encourage healthful behaviors in staff members and community members. Staff recruitment, retention and health can be a significant factor in the design of café spaces that offer healthful foods and respite, says Ana Pinto-Alexander, RID, IIDA, EDAC, principal, group director for health interiors, HKS, Dallas. According to Hutchins, staff members and volunteers at the hospital are proud of and happy about the design of the latest dining space. “From the staff perspective, I really enjoy the new cafeteria,” she says. Looking back on nearly 20 years at UW Health, Hutchins remembers that it was a big deal when the hospital cafeteria introduced its first salad bar. The renovation may involve surrounding the café with spaces that can be used as classrooms or conference rooms at the teaching hospital during off-peak dining hours. A master plan for a second renovation of this café is underway the new project will be focused on multipurpose space, so the café can remain open 24/7 to provide good food choices for visitors and staff. Four Lakes Café, the cafeteria at University Hospital, was remodeled in 2004 to include multiple food stations with healthful options. The cafeteria at the health system’s American Family Children’s Hospital features a farmers market theme and fresh, local food. In addition to American Bistro, The American Center houses a coffee shop with locally sourced, organic goods, as well as a demonstration kitchen where people can learn to cook nutritious meals and snacks. The garden at American Bistro features herbs and vegetables grown for use in the restaurant. Anchored tables in high-traffic areas help to keep the dining space visually uncluttered and the exit circulation clear.ĭesigns for healthful dining are implemented across UW Health. Regard seating, rated for 700 pounds, and Steelcase Move chairs, which can support up to 500 pounds dynamic weight, provide patients in the center’s surgical weight-management program with dignified seating options in the restaurant. The restaurant’s banquettes and booths, from Steelcase’s Regard line, are designed with a larger cleanout and seats that can be removed for cleaning. UW Health partnered with Steelcase Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich., to furnish the space with seating that is easy to clean and comfortable for all users. The American Center’s American Bistro restaurant has high ceilings and large windows that overlook an adjacent outdoor garden. “More people go to the café than any other space, besides the entrance.” “The cafeteria is the communal hub of the hospital,” says Hutchins. The more recent design reflects the health system’s current emphasis on healthful eating and wellness, as well as a recognition of the role dining space plays in a health facility. Hutchins, AIA, IIDA, CHID, EDAC, interior architect, UW Health. ![]() “Look at the difference in prominence and importance,” says Ardis C. At the health system’s newest facility, UW Health at The American Center, the dining area is at the top of a monumental stairway in the building’s atrium. When University Hospital, the main hospital campus for UW Health, the integrated health system of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was built in the 1970s, the cafeteria was located one level down from the entrance. Far from the stark, fluorescent-lit basement spaces of the past, more recent dining areas are prominent facility design features, with natural light and a variety of comfortable seating options where people can relax and enjoy their dining experience. The hospital cafeteria has come up in the world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |