August 16, 2002

For months now as onlookers pass by the site of the former Charles Street Jail, they have seen the steel beams, mounds of debris and slabs of concrete that will be transformed into the new Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care when it is completed in 2004. What most people don't see is the behind-the-scenes planning for what the interior of the center will become.

A team of two architecture firms, Perkins & Will and Steffian Bradley, have been working diligently with hospital administration and clinical and support staff to plan for the space layout, interior design and overall "look" of the center. While these teams have the experience to develop plans that will be efficient and aesthetically pleasing, they also have sought the input of an important component of the new center – the patients who will be cared for there. The goal is to incorporate the patients' needs into the design of the physical space for all outpatient areas.

One example of this kind of input took place in January when several designers from Perkins & Will were invited to meet with the MGH Cancer Center's Patient and Family Advisory Council and listen to concerns regarding the Cancer Center portion of the new Yawkey Center. The advisory group, which was formed last year, serves as a voice for Cancer Center patients and families on a variety of programs and projects for the center.

"Cancer patients spend a lot of time here, often with weekly visits," says Ellen Fitzgerald, RN, MSN, a staff specialist for the MGH Cancer Center. "The hospital is a big part of their lives. This discussion with the architects was a good opportunity for patients and families to give their input into the construction project. They want a comfortable and caring environment that is respectful of their time and provides continuity in their care."

Topics of discussion included color schemes that promote relaxation; use of natural light from windows; patient privacy using partitions rather than curtain dividers; types of seating in waiting rooms; phone and computer access for patients and family members; and patient flow from exam rooms.

According to Carolyn BaRoss of Perkins & Will, the meeting with the council was very useful to the architects. "The discussion validated many of the communications we had heard from the Cancer Center's staff," she says. "It also was very moving to hear first-hand their experiences, which we will consider as we develop the design."

Sonya Dufner, also of Perkins & Will, says that a major point made by the council was the need for choice. "The patients and families would like a variety of options, so they can make decisions depending on what they feel like on a given day," she says. "For example, patients in the infusion unit may want to socialize with other patients, so they may want to be in an open area. Or they may want their privacy, so the option to slide a glass door closed would be important."

The architects currently are in the concept and design stage and plan to revisit the council when they have developed revised plans.

This kind of collaboration between the architects and the council reminds those involved in the construction of the new Yawkey Center of the importance of this new facility. "Patients often tell us that they come to the MGH for its excellence in patient care, but their surroundings are just as important to them," says Fitzgerald. "They want a place that is friendly to patients and families and offers a calm, soothing and healing environment."