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meeting spaces or places to eat or relax. Smart designs can also help
with the healing process. We built a lounge for patients called "The
Oasis" and bill it as a post-op destination. Patients need to ambulate
as soon as possible after surgery, so we created a comfortable space
that they'd be motivated to reach during their recoveries. It's a relax-
ing place where they can sit with loved ones and meet with surgeons.
Why did you incorporate so much natural light into the facility?
It's important for patients to connect with the outside world through-
out their stay. It's also important for the mental well-being of staff,
who work from early morning to late evening. To ensure inside spaces
are bright and inviting, we maximized the number of windows on the
skin of the building, but also installed glass walls in rooms that line
the perimeter to increase the amount of light that reaches core work
areas and hallways.
What features did you include to satisfy hardworking surgeons and staff?
Staff lounges aren't often prioritized in facility design and end up
tucked away in windowless areas. We took the opposite approach.
Our lounge is on the building's top floor, the premier space in the
building, and made up of indoor and outdoor spaces where staff and
surgeons can relax, eat and hang out together as they enjoy panoram-
ic views of Manhattan and the East River. The lounge also breaks
down staff hierarchy. Surgeons mingle with nurses and techs, and
have great conversations. Some of our best patient care ideas have
come from those informal interactions.
OSM
Ms. Heeley (heeleys@mskcc.org) is executive director of design + construc-
tion at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Check out
images of the stunning Josie Robertson Surgery Center at
osmag.net/7kFNyP.
