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Burn injuries can be traumatic for anyone, but for a 4-year-old having to visit hospital regularly for hands-on treatment of his injury, they can be particularly distressing.
Children’s Mercy Kansas City in Kansas City, Mo. decided to relocate its burn clinic several years ago in response to an expanding pediatric intensive care unit at the hospital, giving staff members an opportunity to come up with something special to ease this difficult reality and create an immersive, positive-distraction experience for patients and visitors. They soon embarked upon this plan.
Designing an Engaging Multimedia Experience “Our previous burn space was well equipped with equipment and resources for providing excellent care,” reports Daniel Marx, nurse manager for Children’s Mercy Burn Specialty Team and Burn Clinic. But clinicians wanted more from the new space located elsewhere on campus; so they approached their design team with research about decreasing fear, anxiety and perceived pain during treatment process.
“Positive distraction can reduce fear, anxiety and stress for children as well as their caregivers,” notes Marx. It may help lessen post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms as well as reduce use of pain meds like narcotics. Our ideas on clinic design were received well by both BSA LifeStructures [the design firm on this project] and administration for this clinic design project; giving BSA LifeStructures the freedom to get creative.”
Dimensional Innovations of Overland Park, Kansas was brought on board as an experiential design studio to design an immersive multimedia installation at this 2,000-square-foot clinic that would help patients form positive attitudes before entering treatment rooms (read this article for more on positive distractions in healthcare).
Brandon Kuzara, healthcare account director at Dimensional Innovations, states one of his primary client goals as instilling a sense of control within patients. “It’s about giving power back to patients,” he states, particularly pediatrics where they may feel they’re told what to do and prodded around all day long – giving them their own space while they’re there can be extremely powerful!
Burn Clinic Design Features
This new clinic was crafted to impress, featuring an inviting entrance vestibule featuring floor-to-ceiling forest and mountain scenes, where patients begin their experience. A kid-friendly panel equipped with buttons provides options to customize positive distraction in each patient treatment room, such as color scheme, music styles and–a special bonus–colorful animated birds flying along walls as an additional positive distraction.
Marx notes that all decisions made in the entry space will impact decisions made in the treatment space. When clients arrive for appointments, we discuss preparation, expected events and the order in which things may unfold; then when ready, they move into the larger treatment area where their choices are projected onto walls.
Color schemes, bird flight patterns, sound levels and placement of projectors were designed with staff input in order to coexist harmoniously with the necessary layout of a treatment room. “We don’t want anyone getting too worked up about design only to realize later it interferes with care,” Kuzara warns.
Marx is confident with the end result. When treatments go smoothly, we’re happier with the care we’re providing; when anxiety runs high in the family and we can’t control treatment effectively… then those feelings become our own as we take them on as patient emotions.”
Marx reports that user feedback has been positive; many children have made remarks like, ‘I can’t wait until next week!’.”
