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
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 8, 2014
Massive ‘healthcare village’ in Nevada touted as world’s largest healthcare project
The $1.2 billion Union Village project is expected to create 12,000 permanent jobs when completed by 2024.
| Oct 3, 2014
Designing for women's health: Helping patients survive and thrive
In their quest for total wellness, women today are more savvy healthcare consumers than ever before. They expect personalized, top-notch clinical care with seamless coordination at a reasonable cost, and in a convenient location. Is that too much to ask?
| Sep 29, 2014
10 common deficiencies in aging healthcare facilities
VOA's Douglas King pinpoints the top issues that arise during healthcare facilities assessments, including missing fire/smoke dampers, out-of-place fire alarms, and poorly constructed doorways.
| Sep 25, 2014
Look to history warily when gauging where the construction industry may be headed
Precedents and patterns may not tell you all that much about future spending or demand.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 23, 2014
Cedars-Sinai looks to streamline trauma care with first-of-its-kind OR360 simulation space
The breakthrough simulation center features moveable walls and a modular ceiling grid that allow doctors and military personnel to easily reconfigure the shape and size of the space.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 20, 2014
Healthcare conversion projects: 5 hard-earned lessons from our experts
Repurposing existing retail and office space is becoming an increasingly popular strategy for hospital systems to expand their reach from the mother ship. Our experts show how to avoid the common mistakes that can sabotage outpatient adaptive-reuse projects.
