Jason Luthy

As Healthcare architects and designers, we strive to make a positive contribution to healing, from the processes engaged to pursue responsive design to the built products that live on and adapt to our clients, staff and patients. An enhanced understanding of the ongoing regulatory discussions and their impact on health design is key to orchestrating design processes that yield effective solutions. Healthcare regulations are a very hot topic in today's ever-changing political climate. While uncertainty cannot be eliminated, understanding influential trends and forces can better prepare the design professional to add value in a changing environment. Healthcare planning and design are subject to shifting economic and operational factors over which they have no direct control.  Due to this relationship, healthcare architects and designers must be both rearview-minded and forward-thinking to create efficient and viable spaces that are flexible enough to meet current and future demands. An understanding of how these factors will impact the healthcare field will enable design professionals to innovatively navigate the changing landscape.

The creation of a Capacity Command Center improves system-wide access, patient flow, and capacity while reducing unnecessary processes and positively impacting patient, family and staff experience.  The Capacity Command Center creates an agile system to manage Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center complex hospital system with the ability to flex into an incident command center for emergency response. The goal, as stated by CCHMC: “To centralize capacity management across our enterprise optimizing efficiencies to improve access.” Organizational Benchmarking  of various command centers showed increased savings through increased transfers, improved transport dispatch time, and faster bed assignment translating significant operational savings. 

This is the story of the process of the creation of the Capacity Command Center told from the perspective of the Owners, the Architects, and the Engineers: from the spark of idea, the institutional strategy that drove its inception, the internal leadership that championed its cause,  the research into what other institutions have done, the incorporation of precedent elements from industry and healthcare into a unique space typology, the incorporation of many and varied stakeholders into a visioning process, the search for the right physical location, the provision of technical solutions through design-construction team collaboration, and building it for future flexibility.

Designing pediatric hospitals requires a nuanced approach to safety and security—one that protects patients, families, caregivers and staff without compromising emotional well-being or creating an intimidating, institutional environment. Pediatric settings face unique risks, including unauthorized access, custody disputes, behavioral incidents, and abduction concerns, yet traditional security solutions can heighten anxiety for children, their families, and caregivers. This session explores how thoughtful, integrated design can balance physical protection, privacy, and dignity while supporting healing, comfort, and trust.

Drawing on deep expertise in pediatric healthcare design, facilities management, and security consulting, the panelists will examine strategies that align safety with welcoming, family-centered environments. Topics will include how patient-, family-, and staff-informed design solutions can translate complex security needs into spaces that feel intuitive and supportive, and how CPTED principles, risk assessments, and crisis preparedness in pediatric settings can mitigate threats without intrusive measures. Attendees will gain practical guidance on collaborative design approaches that enhance security, preserve privacy, and foster emotionally supportive environments.