Configurable Wall-Mounted Workstations at Children's Medical Center

Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, required more than a single standard workstation design. Different departments had different room dimensions, charting workflows, technology, accessibility requirements and aesthetic goals. That variety led the hospital to develop an ongoing relationship with Proximity Systems.

According to the case study, the 2.2 million-square-foot pediatric hospital had more than 100 Proximity workstations, plus 16 units in the emergency department and 40 C-ARM workstations in pavilion patient rooms. The hospital valued the ability to develop functional and aesthetic solutions for individual departments while standardizing appropriate configurations.

Project overview

• Facility: Children’s Medical Center
• Location: Dallas, Texas
• Facility size stated in the case study: 2.2 million square feet
• Installed base stated in the case study: More than 100 Proximity workstations
• Additional quantities described: 16 emergency-department units and 40 C-ARM workstations in pavilion patient rooms
• Applications: Patient rooms, emergency department, infusion unit and corridor charting locations
• Reported benefits: Department-specific design, compact footprint, point-of-care charting and standardized emergency-department workstations

The challenge: one hospital, many departmental needs

Hospital workstation design must begin with the work performed in the space. Children’s senior IT infrastructure designer Tracy Morrison described two foundational questions used in planning:

1. Where does the department want the computer in the room?
2. How will clinicians chart?

The project team reviewed plans and collaborated with the department, IT and other involved groups. Design considerations included:

• The functional work-surface area required for each application.
• Ventilation to protect computer equipment.
• Security of equipment and information.
• ADA requirements and applicable codes.
• Aesthetics and coordination with the department.
• Patient visibility and face-to-face interaction.
• The furniture and family space required in pediatric rooms.

Designing for patient and family interaction

The infusion-unit project presented a tight-space challenge. Pediatric patients could remain in the room for extended periods, and couches, chairs and other furnishings were needed to keep children and their families comfortable. At the same time, the clinical team did not want staff to turn their backs on patients while using the computer.

The C-ARM workstation addressed the requirement by allowing the monitor and keyboard section to swivel away from the cabinet. This let the clinician face the patient while charting without significantly increasing the workstation’s room footprint when opened.

The design illustrates a broader point: computer placement influences communication. A compact cabinet alone is not enough; the monitor and work surface must move or orient in a way that fits the clinical encounter.

Customization and standardization can work together

The case study positions customization as a key part of the Proximity Systems relationship. It reports that 90% of the manufacturer’s output at the time was a customized variation of an existing model.

Customization addressed individual departmental needs, while standardization helped the hospital repeat approved configurations. In the emergency department, multi-compartment corridor workstations were designed and installed around the hospital’s accessibility and pathway requirements. Children’s planned to make the approved design a standard for future expansion.

Meeting a compressed project schedule

Another emergency-department project involved a completion target of less than one month. The selected workstations were developed for placement in corridors and pathways, and Proximity Systems managed manufacturing and shipment within the compressed timeline described by the customer.

This outcome was attributed to the company’s role as manufacturer, which allowed greater control over design and production. For prospective customers, the relevant planning questions include:

• When must approved drawings be complete?
• Are prototypes or finish samples required?
• What accessibility and life-safety reviews must occur before production?
• How will manufacturing, shipping and installation align with construction milestones?

Improving access to charting locations

The hospital also installed four corridor “touch-down” workstations during an emergency-department recabling project. These stations gave physicians a place to set down materials, access a computer, chart quickly and move on without entering the busiest portion of the nurses’ station.

The reported workflow benefits included:

• Faster access to a charting computer.
• Fewer interruptions in the nurses’ station.
• Separate work points for physicians and nurses.
• Compact corridor placement.
• A repeatable workstation configuration for future construction.

Nurses also reported appreciating the convenience of having the CPU and monitor together in a station that could be opened for charting and folded closed afterward.

Advice for hospitals planning workstation projects

The Children’s case study emphasizes using the manufacturer’s design staff rather than treating the workstation as a commodity purchase. A strong planning process should:

1. Observe charting and clinical workflows.
2. Identify room-specific space constraints.
3. Involve clinicians, IT, facilities and design professionals.
4. Document equipment, ventilation and cable requirements.
5. Review patient sight lines and communication.
6. Validate accessibility, corridor and life-safety requirements.
7. Decide which features should be customized and which can be standardized.
8. Coordinate manufacturing milestones with the construction schedule.

Workstations shaped around the department

Children’s Medical Center used multiple wall-mounted workstation configurations to address different departmental conditions across a large pediatric hospital. The case study demonstrates the value of designing around the room and workflow, then standardizing proven configurations where repetition improves planning and deployment.