Shepley Bulfinch > People > Uma Ramanathan
My passion for healthcare design, particularly in the pediatric community, goes back to the first three weeks of my daughter's life in a neonatal intensive care unit. She had outstanding neonatologists who were trying to provide the best possible care in an extremely deficient environment. This experience has informed and focused my work over the past 18 years.
I lead the planning and programming effort for a wide range of institutions, from academic medical centers to community hospitals, addressing complex issues in healthcare operations. My understanding of the group dynamics, particularly my listening skills and experience, helps me to understand healthcare planning and how it affects the way people work and the way in which they influence the built environment. My approach as a lead healthcare planner and programmer is to encourage designers and users to create a collective level of understanding the unique operational flow, to assess workflow and to identify areas for improvement. Design must satisfy the rigorous demands of medical staff aimed at improving operations and increasing patient and care giver satisfaction. The design process must engender goodwill and participation among all stakeholders.
In addition to working with clients in healthcare planning, one of my pet projects was the development of a software package used for generating health facility departmental space programs. I enjoying sharing my knowledge with the community--be it the course on healthcare programming and planning at the Boston University School of Public Health or the family focus groups at healthcare institutions.
Projects
Berthiaume Family South BuildingChildren's Hospital Boston
Medical Center Expansion
Lahey Clinic
Specialty Center
DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan
Project for Modernization
Hartford Hospital
Expansion and Renovation
Concord Hospital