Five Questions With: Stephanie Paolino

Stephanie Paolino is an associate and health care team leader at Vision 3 Architects, and recently was awarded the credential of Evidence Based Design Accreditation by the National Center for Health Design.
Stephanie Paolino is an associate and health care team leader at Vision 3 Architects, and recently was awarded the credential of Evidence Based Design Accreditation by the National Center for Health Design.

Stephanie Paolino is an associate and health care team leader at Vision 3 Architects, and recently was awarded the credential of Evidence Based Design Accreditation by the National Center for Health Design. In her position, she is involved in all phases of projects, from pre-design through construction administration. Her current projects include the Thundermist Health Center facility renovation in Woonsocket and University Medicine’s new medical office building in East Providence.
PBN: What is evidence-based design, if you could explain this concept?
PAOLINO:
The Center for Health Design defines evidence-based design as “the process of basing decisions about the built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes.” Included in this process are the following eight steps: define evidence-based goals and objectives; find sources for relevant evidence; critically interpret relevant evidence; create and innovate evidence-based design concepts; develop a hypothesis; collect baseline performance measures; monitor implementation of design and construction; and measure post-occupancy performance results.
A large and growing body of evidence attests to the fact that physical environment impacts patient stress, patient and staff safety, staff effectiveness and the quality of care provided in hospitals and other health care settings. Basing health care facility planning and design decisions on this evidence to achieve the best possible patient, staff and operational outcomes is what evidence-based design is all about.
PBN: Health care environments are highly specialized. What makes this a rewarding area of specialty for an architect?
PAOLINO:
The health care industry is one of the most complex and challenging areas of architectural design. I enjoy working with clients to help them understand the design process and to better define their goals. Often their goals include improved operational efficiencies, added comfort for patients and staff, and integration of advanced technologies. Finding the solutions to these goals involves playing a key role on multidisciplinary teams, often over a great deal of time. The most rewarding aspect of health care design is in the knowledge that a finished product achieved the goals we set out to solve and that the building will continue to shape how that organization will operate in the future.
PBN: What drew you into this specialty field in particular? How is it different than other commercial design?
PAOLINO:
Early on in my career, I had the opportunity to work with a few of Rhode Island’s Community Health Centers. The projects had such an impact on their neighborhoods, their patients and their staff. I specialize in health care, especially community health centers, because I enjoy using my skills to create designs that are affordable, functional, sustainable and that make a difference to the communities in Rhode Island. Designing for health care means being able to look at the big picture, such as developing a master plan for a medical campus or creating new operational workflows that are efficient and that improve the patient experience.
Other times, health care design requires intense attention to detail, such as the technical coordination of advanced medical equipment. The balance between developing the overall concepts and layouts of the project and the coordination of the equipment, furniture, signage and all other items that make a health care project successful is why I find health care design so rewarding.
PBN: What does the certification/accreditation mean in real terms? Will hospitals or medical centers require this, for example, when seeking renovations of surgical or patient areas?
PAOLINO:
Hospitals and medical centers are becoming aware of the value of evidence-based design. Health care buildings are the highest capital investment for an organization and the successes and failures of design will impact their patients and staff for many years. Only quality research can determine if a design concept has real-world positive effect on patient care, staff safety and job satisfaction. Looking forward, evidence-based design means new and higher expectations from designers. Evidence-based design is an important tool to change health care for the better.
The challenge with implementing an evidence-based design process on projects is justifying the additional cost to the project to include a research team to develop the research plan or to perform an independent post-occupancy evaluation. Through a partnership with the School of Architecture at Roger Williams University, Vision 3 Architects has been able to incorporate an evidence-based design process on recent health care projects, and it has been beneficial to both the health care organizations and to the architecture students involved.
PBN: What are some of your projects that have focused on health care design and which one are you most proud of?
PAOLINO:
I have been honored to work with many incredible health care organizations such as Providence Community Health Centers, University Medicine Foundation, Well One, Lifespan and Thundermist Health Centers. All of the projects I have worked on have had different challenges, and I’m constantly inspired to continue to create unique solutions. I’d like to think that the project I am most proud of will be my next one!

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