Children with medically complex conditions represent an estimated three million children who account for 40% of Medicaid spending on children. Growing at 6% annually, they are among the most rapidly growing sectors of the pediatric population.
As hospitals struggle to manage costs and resources, moving children with such maladies through a continuum of care is critical to meeting the clinical, social, and emotional needs of this population and their families.
There are over 14,000 children with medical complexities in Illinois alone, where, in late October, Almost Home Kids—an organization that provides transitional care in home-like settings for children with complex medical needs, as well as training and respite care for their families—opened its third location in the country, on the Peoria campus of OSF Healthcare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, the state’s third-largest pediatric hospital.
Almost Home Kids also operates 12-bedroom houses facilities in Naperville, Ill., and Chicago. The three facilities were funded entirely by community and business donations.
Stantec assisted in the design, medical planning, and interiors of the 22,000-sf Almost Home Kids in Peoria, which is the first implementation of the organization’s national prototype. Stantec worked with a panel of Almost Home Kids clinicians and families during the design and site adaptation processes.
Almost Home Kids provides training to help families care for their sick chlidren. Image: Ballogg Photography
“This is much more than just a project for us,” says Rebel Roberts, FAIA, RIBA, FACHA, Practice Leader for Design at Stantec. “It’s a positive healing space and a comforting home where families feel relieved and welcome. We hope this prototype continues to get adopted and we see more Almost Home Kids facilities throughout the country, because they truly are remarkable.”
In an interview with BD+C, Roberts elaborates that neither of Almost Home Kids’ first two facilities—a renovated house in Naperville and a midrise build-to-suit within a relatively tall building in downtown Chicago—was a suitable model for expansion into other cities. The Peoria house, on the other hand, is a ground-up, freestanding unit, for which Stantec did mockups and drawings. The plan is scalable, says Roberts, and can be attuned to a market’s local climate.
Children at the Almost Home Kids at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois receive 24-hour medical and nursing support from skilled pediatric nurses. The organization helps train family members to provide the best care for their children, including how to operate and maintain the child’s home medical equipment, prepare medications and treatments, and maximize government support systems such as home modifications and/or obtaining home nursing hours.
The organization’s website states that it took “several years of planning, collaboration, and construction” with the hospital to complete the $8.5 million Peoria facility, whose general contractor was Core Construction and engineer was IMEG. Almost Home Kids has stated previously its intention to expand nationally and open new facilities across the country, but has not disclosed its timetable or proposed locations.
Related Stories
| May 1, 2013
Groups urge Congress: Keep energy conservation requirements for government buildings
More than 350 companies urge rejection of special interest efforts to gut key parts of Energy Independence and Security Act
| May 1, 2013
World’s tallest children’s hospital pushes BIM to the extreme
The Building Team for the 23-story Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago implements an integrated BIM/VDC workflow to execute a complex vertical program.
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 30, 2013
Healthcare lighting innovation: Overhead fixture uses UV to kill airborne pathogens
Designed specifically for hospitals, nursing homes, child care centers, and other healthcare facilities where infection control is a concern, the Arcalux Health Risk Management System (HRMS) is an energy-efficient lighting fixture that doubles as a germ-killing machine.
| Apr 24, 2013
North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage
North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 10, 2013
ASHRAE publishes second edition to HVAC manual for healthcare facilities
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has published a second edition of its “HVAC Design Manual for Hospitals and Clinics.”
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
| Apr 2, 2013
4 hospital lobbies provide a healthy perspective
A carefully considered entry zone can put patients at ease while sending a powerful branding message for your healthcare client. Our experts show how to do it through four project case studies.
