Frank Gehry, Health Reform and the Cleveland Clinic

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Las Vegas Hospital Uses Celebrity Architecture to Fight Disease?

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP

[Publisher-in-Chief]

dr-david-marcinko6According to the Las Vegas Sun Newspaper on March 2, 2009, the Cleveland Clinic is the newest top-tier player in Sin-City with an emerging health care system that will shake up the status quo, supposedly creating a multitude of direct and residual benefits for patients throughout the region.

Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

In its role as partner with the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, the hospital — ranked fourth best nationally by U.S. News & World Report — is projected to influence medical care in Nevada on the strength of its immense organization. And, it is being designed by, none other than esteemed architect, Frank Gehry.

A Huge Project

And, if you believe numerous websites, the behemoth project will include office towers, a park, a 60-story tower for jewelry trading, a hotel conceived by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, thousands of apartments and a $360 million performing arts center. Of course, in typically flamboyant Gehry fashion, the highly embellished main facility is said to model curvy metallic shapes and “folds of the brain.” Other nescient drawings of the Ruvo Center show it divided in two sections. Offices and examination rooms will be housed in stacked rectangular blocks set slightly off kilter, like a fortress wall built by children.

The Architect

Gehry used this method to design his world famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain (1997) and his Peter B. Lewis Building for the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in 2002. His style is well known.

Misplaced Priorities

But, with an estimated 40 million uninsured citizens, one only can wonder if this facility could have been built more cost effectively and/or more utilitarian?

Assessment

Moreover, some Clevelanders are grumbling about the clinic’s involvement in such a glamorous project far away, and imagine that the project will drain local resources just as sun-parched Western states have fantasized about tapping the Great Lakes.

Industry Indignation Index: 70

Conclusion

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10 Responses

  1. Hi,

    I came across your site, and this post, and I see that you appreciate value in hospital safety as well. I am writing on behalf of Astorino, an architecture and design firm. Many of our healthcare projects, including the new Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh includes several unique safety features.

    In fact, we just wrote a few blog entries about it:

    http://discoverdesignbuild.com/2009/06/creating-a-safe-and-secure-environment-for-patients-family-and-staff/ and http://discoverdesignbuild.com/2009/06/design-and-infection-are-the-two-related/.

    Please let us know what you think!
    Best,
    Lauren Begley

    [Account Executive]
    Peppercom Strategic Communications
    470 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10016
    212.931.6143 lbegley@peppercom.com

    Like

  2. Short-staffed Grady Memorial Hospital probed after patient fell from window

    Low staff levels [and window architecture] may be to blame for a patient’s fall from an 11th-floor window at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported.

    http://www.ajc.com/news/report-grady-failed-to-1196154.html

    The patient, Gloria Shavers, fell to her death last month when the window was left unlocked, according to WABE News.

    http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1861462/Atlanta./Patient.Death.Prompts.Upcoming.Federal.Inspection.of.Grady.Memorial

    Hope R. Hetico RN MHA
    [Managing Editor]

    Like

  3. America’s 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals named for 2012

    Martha Jefferson Hospital of Charlottesville, Va., took the top honors in Soliant.com’s recent poll of America’s Most Beautiful Hospitals.

    http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/americas-20-most-beautiful-hospitals-named-2012?topic=03,10

    A very important article for healthcare, don’t you think – NOT?

    Bertha

    Like

  4. Do hospital buildings heal the sick?

    Can a hospital structure really improve patient safety? Can buildings heal?

    http://www.hospitalimpact.org/index.php/2012/08/08/do_hospital_buildings_heal_the_sick?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

    Or, should the credit go to employees and care quality?

    Helen

    Like

  5. 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals announced

    On July 1st 2013, healthcare staffing provider Soliant Health announced the top 20 winners of its fifth annual Most Beautiful Hospitals in the U.S. awards.

    http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/20-most-beautiful-hospitals-announced?topic=05,19

    Joan

    Like

  6. On Frank Gehry

    Mr. Frank Gehry is considered to be a “star-chitect” with his famous twisting tin roof design.

    However, with the right mix of evidence-based design elements applied to a hospital or healthcare facilities; there has been on-going research and studies showing that improved safety and benefits to the patients can be achieved along with better medical outcomes.

    http://www.healthdesign.org/edac/about

    Ken Yeung MBA CMP candidate
    http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

    Like

  7. The old adage

    …You only get one chance to make a good first impression…

    A shabby interior space, poor maintenance, even unpleasant odors can have potential money-paying patients turning on their heels and heading out the door.

    Abe

    Like

  8. CMS Proposes New Fire Safety Regulations for Hospitals

    On April 14, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule regarding the adoption of the 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code (LSC) and Health Care Facilities Code (HCFC), which contains key updates regarding fire safety regulations for all Medicare and Medicaid participating hospitals; long term care facilities (LTC); critical access hospitals (CAH); ambulatory surgical centers (ASC); and, other facilities. CMS asserts that the adoption of these building codes will ease compliance across facilities, as both the LSC and HCFC are aligned with international building codes.

    These code updates are particularly important for hospitals, as they contain new requirements for: (1) sprinkler systems; (2) fire watch requirements; (3) patient suite sizes; and, (4) door locking, among others.

    Click to access Fire_Safety_Regulations.pdf

    Robert James Cimasi MHA ASA CVA CMP™

    Like

  9. Colorblind Design

    Colorblind Design is a new company dedicated to architectural design and specialized construction of spaces for people with any sort of disability.

    Services range from architectural design consultation, planning spaces and supervision to constructing the necessary infrastructure for people with disabilities.

    Colorblind Design seeks to capture a niche market with great potential by presenting space solutions to better enable people with disabilities.

    Limon

    Like

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