The Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center (ACC)
at AUBMC was announced by Contract Design Magazine* as the winner of the
Conceptual Design for the Healthcare Environment Awards 2014 publication,
recognizing innovative design that enhances the quality of healthcare delivery.
NBBJ and AUBMC received
the 2014 award at the Health Care Design conference held in San Diego,
USA between November 15 and 18, 2014 and AUBMC was recognized as a main
tertiary referral medical center in Lebanon and Middle East in addition to its
being a unique facility which combines patient care, education, and research,
all in one place.
Mrs. Luma Sidani Kronfol, Director of Medical Complex
Planning Unit, AUBMC and FM, who led
a presentation at the conference about “Redefining Patient Care in Lebanon: the
American University of Beirut Medical Center’s Facility Planning and Design
Experience” explained that the challenges AUBMC had to meet in a turbulent
country like Lebanon were too many, yet the accomplishments attained and the
clear vision set by the center’s leadership in alignment with its 2020 vision
as presented by Dr. Mohamed H. Sayegh, VP of Medical Affairs and the Raja N.
Khuri Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, have led it to propel care to new levels
of excellence. Mrs. Kronfol focused in her presentation on the strategies for
collaboration that AUBMC leadership and NBBJ employed to accomplish a shift in
patient care and staff work processes while managing change with international
clients and hospitals, structuring meetings, incorporating international
practices and benchmarks, and using rapid prototyping to reach consensus. She
said, “To entail a significant change in healthcare delivery in the Middle
East, AUBMC prepared strategies for negotiating cultural differences between
care providers and designers and identified operational efficiencies that can
improve work flow. The ACC integrated concepts of operational efficiency with
solutions to improve the patient experience and create soothing environments.”
The Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center, the
first facility of its kind, will be the most modern medical building in
Lebanon. It will be home to centers of excellence, educational centers, outpatient
clinics, a same-day surgery program and underground parking.
* Contract is the most
valuable resource for the Architecture and Design community. It is the only
publication that regularly presents the value of these concepts, practices, and
trends, demonstrating the business return of design.
