When being treated in a hospital for injury or illness, we expect the utmost care, and trust the facility to bring us back to health. In a recent article in the New York Times ( “Bad Hospital Design is Making Us Sicker”), Dr. Dhruv Khullar outlines...
Articles and studies speaking to the need to keep health-care associated infections (HAIs) to a minimum are being done continuously. Efforts to keep patients safe from bacteria that could come from other patients, staff, and visitors in hospitals are necessary. Many regulations about glove use and hand...
From the viewpoint of Integrative Space, everything in the environment matters. Applying Feng Shui principles to even the seemingly least significant detail in a hospital or clinic setting can bring about the most significant positive response. Currently, I am involved in a hospital remodeling project in...
The design of waiting rooms is a vital point of discussion in the healthcare world. Some think waiting rooms will become a thing of the past since the patient will be able to check in with ease via a kiosk and report directly to an...
Several months ago, I wrote an article called Healing Begins in the Waiting Room, addressing the issue of what patients are experiencing when they visit a medical facility and have to spend time in a waiting room----and how to make the wait more enjoyable using...
In 2003, I was contracted as an integrative spaces specialist to be part of a team whose focus was designing and building a new hospital. All facets of the project were analyzed from an integrative/Feng Shui perspective----color, roads, office placements, landscape, entry experience, patient rooms,...
“. . . .only architecture built up out of adjectives can nourish the soul.” Christopher Day, Places of the Soul This succinct phrase by eco-architect Christopher Day sums up the essence of what an integrative space entails. It doesn’t just entail a building but the experience behind...
Recently, I read an article about a hospital in St. Louis that has no hospital beds. Mercy Virtual Care Center staffs 330 people but has no patients who actually show up. As their title says----they’re virtual. Mercy provides hospital care that is focused on helping people...
An Integrated Space is one that is meaningful on all levels-----physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It provides cues which can lead to positive experience, feelings and thoughts----healing included. This optimal environment is achieved through the intersection of the time-tested principles of the ancient Chinese system of...
My experience in creating integrative space is going on 24 years. It goes without saying I have seen enormous changes in this field in terms of acceptance and regard for the effectiveness of an alternative Feng Shui approach. Recently what else has changed is how...
What are we looking for when we identify a space as having integrative qualities? A place that is generically attractive and pleasant could qualify as an integrative space. A place where patients know where to go, where to wait, and what to expect could be considered integrative. A...
In the majority of my earlier work, I facilitated a client’s integration of Feng Shui principles on a single structure---a home, building, office, yurt (yup!). And, during the course of our work together, I would emphasize the importance of connecting to nature, of creating a...