HEALTHCARE DESIGN
We are passionate in the belief that our environments greatly impact our physical and emotional well being. This is most critical in Healthcare Design where design can help calm, reduce pain and heal.
From Outpatient Facilities to New Health Centers and Hospitals, we are dedicated to designing highly functional, modern healthcare facilities that serve our community.
Patient Centered Design It starts with listening to our clients, understanding their patients’ unique needs and developing spaces that support their care. Designing from the patients’ perspective can involve providing clear wayfinding, organizing spaces to optimize access to services and caregivers. Additionally, thoughtful and elevated design helps patients feel cared for.
Culture Hawaii has a unique culture and we value creating buildings and spaces that serve and reflect our community. In Hawaii, families are cared for and not just individuals. As designers, we look for opportunities to improve the patient and family experience whether it is configuring spaces to accommodate the family unit, or reinforcing a sense of place through familiar building materials and artwork.
Design Elements Good design is proven to improve patient outcomes. Design that provides patients access to daylighting and views, positive distractions through art, and that is organized and clutter-free promote well being.
Flexibility For Change With rapid advances in medicine and technology, change is constant. Ferraro Choi is experienced in planning and coordinating complex equipment and building systems.
FEATURED HEALTHCARE PROJECTS
DANIEL KAHIKINA AKAKA
VETERANS AFFAIRS CLINIC
Kalaeloa, Hawai‘i
The Daniel Kahikina Akaka VA Clinic is a welcoming and healing environment that honors our local veterans. This facility brings outstanding and accessible healthcare services to the 15,000 underserved Veterans on the West Side of Oahu. The Multi-Specialty Outpatient Clinic provides: Veterans Benefits and Services, Mental Health, Primary Care, Pain Management, Audiology, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Laboratory Medicine, Dental, Prosthetics and Sensory Aids and Physical Rehabilitation Services.
Year Completed: 2024
Service Type: Architecture + Interiors
Size: 88,675 Sq. Ft.
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Celebration of nature and place grounds the building culturally, as well as provides healing biophilic elements. The design incorporates nature through daylighting, landscaping, views, and materials.
Accessibility is critical. The new clinic is centrally located within the veteran community it serves and accessible by multiple transportation modes. The site and building are accessible and spacious promoting comfort and inclusivity.
The Akaka VA Clinic is certified under the Green Globes Building System which promotes environmental sustainability, health & wellness, and resilience.
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32 Exam Rooms
10 Speciality Exam Rooms
23 Consult Rooms
5 Group Rooms
1 Airborne Infection Isolation Room
4 Audiology Booths
1 CT Scanner Room
2 General Radiology Rooms
1 Bone Densitometry Room
1 Ultrasound Room
5 Dental Treatment Rooms
3 PT Treatment Rooms
1 Laboratory
HALE OLA ‘ALUA
WAIMĀNALO HEALTH CENTER
Waimānalo, Hawai‘i
Hale Ola ‘Alua is an outpatient healthcare facility for the Waimānalo Health Center. The two-story structure includes admissions areas, a pharmacy, a vision clinic, a pediatrics clinic, and a medical clinic integrating physicians, nurses, behavioural health providers, nutritionists, and care coordinators to serve each patient holistically.
Year Completed: 2019
Service Type: Architecture + Interiors
Size: 18,400 Sq. Ft.
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Reflect the Cultural Motto of the Waimānalo Health Center “Ola i ka wai a ka opua” (There is life in the water from the clouds). The building’s organization, circulation and materials speak to the water cycle of the Ko’olau.
Promote smooth Patient Flow and Wayfinding through intuitive design and visual connections to destinations.
Promote Team-Based, Patient Centered Care. Building organization supports easy collaboration of staff and private but accessible patient rooms.
Biophilic Design. The building has ample use of daylight through skylights and clerestory windows.Additionally, there are connections to nature through the window gardens and expansive views of the Ko’olau.
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1 Airborne Infection Isolation Room
18 Exam Rooms
2 Pediatric Exam Rooms
2 Vision Exam Rooms
1 Vision / Tech Fitting Room
22 Offices
Pharmacy
COVID INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS
THE QUEEN’S MEDICAL CENTER - QET 9DH
Honolulu, Hawai‘i
The COVID Infrastructure Enhancement project was an upgrade of the existing Respiratory Wing into an Airborne Infection Isolation Wing that can serve higher acuity patients. The renovated wing provides a much needed facility for addressing COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Year Completed: 2020
Service Type: Interiors
Size: 12,000 Sq. Ft.
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Improve Safety for the patients and the hospital staff:
Convert patient rooms to negative pressure with dedicated exhaust
Provide pass through windows to minimize frequency of entering rooms
Provide corridor alcoves to store PPE
Cleanability. Finishes were upgraded to improve hygiene. A disinfecting lighting system was incorporated to provide additional infection control.
Improving Connectivity is key in providing care in a pandemic. Telehealth systems allow video conferencing to connect patients, families and their physicians.
Accelerated Timeline. To meet the urgent needs of the hospital and the community, the renovation was designed, constructed and opened for patients in under 4 months.
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22 Patient Rooms
2 Patient Isolation Rooms
SHRINERS HOSPITALS
FOR CHILDREN
Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Ferraro Choi teamed with the prime architectural firm of SRG Partnership Inc. to design the replacement hospital for Shriners Hospitals for Children in Honolulu. The new facility allows Shriners Hospitals for Children to fulfill their mission to meet the needs of their patients as the premier Pediatric Orthopedic and Neuromuscoloskeletal Hospital in the State of Hawaii and Pacific Region.
Year Completed: 2011
Service Type: Master Planning + Architecture + Interiors
Size: 140,000 Sq. Ft.
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As a Children’s Hospital it was essential that the building and interior spaces be kid friendly, cheerful, and designed to set patients and their families at ease.
With locations throughout the world, Shriners Hospitals wanted a hospital that was unique to the people it serves and the community it sits within. The design of the building recalls the low scale and Territorial style of the beloved original hospital that was replaced.
The use of positive distractions: aquariums of brightly colored fish, mobiles, and playful wall art are incorporated throughout the hospital to help cope with pain and anxiety.
Supporting the family unit is central to the planning and design of the Hospital. Family Living Quarters and space within the Patient Rooms are included in the program.
The planning of the hospital considered how patients will receive multiple services over the course of a treatment. The continuum of care coordination provides better outcomes for patients.
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10 Exam Rooms
2 Telemedicine Exam Rooms
3 Treatment Rooms
2 Cast Rooms
2 X-Ray Rooms
Physical Therapy / OT Gym
Motion Analysis Lab
Recreational Therapy & Pool
2 Operating Rooms
Central Sterile
4 Post Operation Rooms
10 Double Patient Rooms
2 Double Isolation Patient Rooms
