Kaiser Permanente Opens Hospital Design Process to the Public

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Searching for the brightest ideas in health care design and delivery, Kaiser Permanente will hold an open hospital design competition inviting students, architects, engineers, designers and teams of multidisciplinary thinkers from around the world to conceptualize new ways to deliver high-quality health care. The competition will look for the innovative use of technology and facility design to improve access to care and foster collaboration and quality while remaining efficient and affordable.

The "Small Hospital, Big Idea" competition seeks design concepts for a small, eco-conscious, patient- and family-friendly hospital that uses the best in emerging medical technology to coordinate and deliver care to Kaiser Permanente members.

The small hospital is a departure for Kaiser Permanente, whose unique integrated model of care typically demands a large medical campus with a hospital and supporting outpatient medical office buildings. As the organization's membership grows and demographics change, the small hospital design will serve as a model allowing more access to convenient, safe and quality health care.  

"We are not just looking for dynamic building designs," said Benjamin Chu, MD, president of Kaiser Permanente Southern California  "We want a partner with fresh ideas on how technology and medicine can reshape our current medical delivery infrastructure to provide even more exceptional, effective and convenient care to our members."

Kaiser Permanente's model is built with both people and the environment in mind, with an emphasis on total health and patient empowerment. The winning small hospital design will provide a patient-centered healing environment that has near-zero impact on the environment while providing access to the latest technology to improve quality and reduce costs.

This is the first hospital design competition for the organization, which operates 36 hospitals and nearly 500 medical office buildings in nine states and the District of Columbia. The new small hospital is tentatively scheduled for construction in Southern California.

The competition is free to enter. Finalists will be announced publicly in May and will receive compensation of up to $750,000 to develop their concepts further. The winner will earn the right to contract with Kaiser Permanente for the small hospital project.

Registration for the competition begins Feb. 28 and ends promptly at 5 p.m. Pacific time, March 21. Entrants must register online at http://design.kpnfs.com/.  For more information about the competition, visit the "Small Hospital, Big Idea" website at http://design.kpnfs.com/

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health.  For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit the KP News Center at: www.kp.org/newscenter.

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente