An interview with Kingshuk Das, Steelcase Environments for Healing Initiative

Work processes in nurses stations have changed over the years: there's more technology, new patient care delivery modes, a whole new set of work processes, yet the basic configuration remains static. Even when hospitals renovate or build new patient units, the changes are primarily aesthetic. Hospitals don't have time to rethink how work flows and how best to support it. But it doesn't have to be this way. "You can't predict many changes in technology, work processes, or government regulations,"says Kingshuk Das, healthcare consultant at Steelcase. "But you can plan for them." An architect and a strategic design planner with the company's Healthcare Team, Das studies and consults with hospitals and clinics around North America. 

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Humans today in general are larger, and the obesity problem is at epidemic levels. Architects and interior designers are now faced with new challenges when designing healthcare environments, especially in the practice of obesity management and bariatrics . Research shows that the obese and morbidly obese suffer not only physical conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease, but psychological effects that come from years of cruel stares, resulting in low self esteem. More so than any other medical area, creating an environment that provides both physical and emotional comfort is critical to the successful treatment of bariatric patients.

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