Materials Selection in Healthcare Design

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Acute Care: care provided in a hospital setting and often includes at least an overnight stay; i.e., surgical suites, emergency rooms, shock trauma, intensive care (ICU), pediatric intensive care (PICU), labor and delivery, neo-natal, etc.

Alternative Healing: utilizes alternative therapies to standard medical practices as part of the treatment and/or care of a patient or resident.

Alternative Therapies: includes treatment for conditions that have not been traditionally accepted by the medical field; i.e., massage, herbal remedies, healing touch, Reiki, acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathic, homeopathic, etc.

Ambulatory Care: refers to care provided on an out-patient basis.

Capitated Rates: refers to a top limit of reimbursement or payment that would be made for a certain service or diagnosis. Generally, these rates are set by insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Capitated Rates for Skilled Nursing: refers to the Prospective Payment System (PPS), which limits payments to skilled nursing facilities, based upon the initial assessment of an admitted resident and the aligning payment provided for care of an individual based upon a list of criteria provided by Medicare.

Changes in Reimbursements: refers to insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid providing payment or amount of payment for different services than were initially paid or not paid for at all.

Cost of Maintenance: refers to the total cost involved to clean a finished surface, which includes the number of products, types of equipment, and number of full time equivalent man hours.

Crypton™: refers to a brand name of a product. It is an engineered textile in which fibers are immersed in a patented formula (P385) that permanently encases them. The result is a moisture-proof upholstery fabric. (www.cryptonfabric.com)

Ease of Maintenance: refers to how many steps it takes to clean a finished surface, the number of products utilized to clean a finished surface, number of employees it takes to clean a finished surface, the amount of physical strength it takes to clean a finished surface, and the time it takes to clean a finished surface. Basically, how easy is a surface to clean. Healthcare: generic all-inclusive term for project work that relates to healthcare, as it relates to a short-term stay; i.e. doctor's appointment, hospital stay, outpatient services, etc.

Life Cycle Cost: refers to the total cost of a product for its useful service life, which includes the initial cost of the product, the maintenance of the product, the amount of time a product is installed before it has to be replaced due to wear and tear, and the overall performance of the product.

Long-Term Care: generic all-inclusive term for project work that relates to healthcare as it relates to a long-term stay, usually providing residential living accommodations in conjunction with meeting healthcare needs; i.e., skilled nursing home, assisted living facility, continuing care retirement communities, senior housing, housing for differently-abled.

Medicaid: State funded program which provides payments for care and sometimes housing, depending upon the state. Reimbursement depends upon type of facility, diagnosis, treatment required, living arrangements, etc. and is not consistent from state to state.

Medicare: Federally funded program which provides payments for care. Reimbursement depends upon type of facility, diagnosis, and treatment required.

Reimbursement Path: refers to the process of payments, how much is being paid for certain services, and who is paying for certain services; i.e. insurance payments, Medicare payments, Medicaid payments, etc.

Secondary Market Work: refers to other areas of project work that are developing based on specialized acute care facilities.

Stepping Down Care: refers to utilizing only services or care for a patient or resident that is needed for that individual. If less care or a lower number of services are required, the care plan is adjusted accordingly.

Xorel™: refers to a Carnegie brand name woven product that is used for upholstery, wallcovering, and office systems panels. Xorel yarns are non-absorbent and cannot be penetrated by dust and stains (www.xorel.com).