PART 1

Mary Frazier, AIA, LEED AP, Green Belt and Principal at Ewing Cole is our guest today on the podcast. Mary shares the need for hospital agility and the ability to quickly retool in the face of unforeseen events. She shares, “Initially, we were focused on how quickly we could expand capacity for our hospital partners within institutions themselves by repurposing large spaces such as lobbies or recommissioning rooms that may have been converted to alternate uses over the time.” Learn why patients have now become afraid to go to the hospital with empty Emergency Departments a growing concern among hospitals. How can the healthcare design professional help hospitals begin to rebuild trust and bring their patients back? This and an in-depth look at what Ewing Cole is doing to help their hospital partners adapt and thrive in the current environment, and moving forward on Part 1 of Cheryl’s conversation today with Mary Frazier.

With a focus on healthcare design and planning, Mary is the Managing Principal of Ewing Cole’s New York office. She ensures all projects meet her high standards for design excellence. To that end, Mary works to recruit, train and retain future industry leaders for both EwingCole and the New York office.

Mary has worked on many notable and award-winning recognized projects.  She embraces a hands-on approach on all projects and feels most rewarded at the completion of projects that exceed both her client’s expectations and her professional goals.

Mary has a degree in Architecture from Drexel University and Business from Pennsylvania State University.  She often speaks at conferences on the impacts of design on patient and staff experiences, as well as efficiency and outcome.

Learn more about Mary Frazier and Ewing Cole by visiting: https://www.ewingcole.com/.

In part 1 of Cheryl’s conversation with Mary Frazier, you will learn:

• How Ewing Cole is helping their hospital partners adapt their hospital environments to accommodate surge capacity.
• The importance of implementing designs that embrace flexibility.
• The ability to convert entire units into isolation.
• Why are patients now afraid to go to the hospital, how Emergency Departments are emptying, and how to help rebuild trust among hospitals and their patients.
• How will waiting areas and other public spaces change in the post COVID environment?
• How can outdoor spaces be utilized to accommodate family members who don’t feel comfortable sitting inside the hospital waiting areas?
• What interesting new technology helps keep social distancing and boundaries in place in the hospital environment?
• How will shared touchdown spaces change?
• What is agile hospital design and how is it playing an important role in the hospital space in the current environment and moving forward?

In part 2 of Cheryl’s interview today with Mary Frazier, AIA, LEED AP, Green Belt and Principal at Ewing Cole, Mary shares new technology that is greatly assisting in the battle against COVID-19 and Hospital Acquired Infections. She shares, “There are things we are seeing that we think have a lot of promise like Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation which we have put into air handlers before and continue to do so. How can we incorporate this technology into a hospital or a clinic so that perhaps at the end of the clinic day after the room has been cleaned by the cleaning staff during a nighttime period  timer, the ultraviolet lights would come on and provide that additional ability to help clean those facilities?” This and more on the changing face of health and wellness in the built environment on part 2 of my engaging conversation with Mary Frazier.

With a focus on healthcare design and planning, Mary is the Managing Principal of Ewing Cole’s New York office. She ensures all projects meet her high standards for design excellence. To that end, Mary works to recruit, train and retain future industry leaders for both EwingCole and the New York office.

Mary has worked on many notable and award-winning recognized projects.  She embraces a hands-on approach on all projects and feels most rewarded at the completion of projects that exceed both her client’s expectations and her professional goals.

Mary has a degree in Architecture from Drexel University and Business from Pennsylvania State University.  She often speaks at conferences on the impacts of design on patient and staff experiences, as well as efficiency and outcome.

Learn more about Mary Frazier and Ewing Cole by visiting: https://www.ewingcole.com/.

In Part 2 of Cheryl’s conversation with Mary Frazier, you will learn:

• What are the biggest challenges that Ewing Cole and the healthcare design community in the United States as a whole are facing now?
• Could this be an exciting time for designers to address things like HAI’s (Hospital Acquired Infections) which are a big problem in the United States and are responsible for so many unnecessary deaths?
• The technology and materials that are assisting with the battle against COVID-19 and Hospital Acquired Infections.
• Do hospital clients look to designers for education on the best materials for the post COVID hospital? If so, does this put added pressure on designers?
• How can surfaces in the healthcare setting be properly cleaned according to the manufacturer’s instructions?
• What materials are beautiful, safe, and support ease of cleaning?
• Why solid surface products are the new go-to for hospital designers.
• Why large format porcelain tiles with fiberglass backing are Mary’s choice for hospital corridor walls.
• Solid surface materials can be the backdrop for artwork, while providing a safe, cleanable surface for hospitals.
• What will hospitals look like in 2040?
• How human and technology are already being integrated in the hospital setting with Moxi the Hospital Robot Assistant at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Texas.