EDAC case studies
EDAC · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification (EDAC) credential is a professional certification for people who want to show that they can apply research findings rigorously to the design of built environments - most commonly in healthcare, but the underlying method travels to any project type where outcomes matter. Candidates typically include architects, interior designers, planners, facility and clinical operations staff, consultants, and researchers who sit on project teams where design decisions are expected to be defensible rather than habitual. The EDAC case studies are 5 cases and about 3,272 words.
1The $18 Million Private Room Conversion and a Six-Week Deadline
A 220-bed community hospital is deciding whether to convert its 40 semi-private medical-surgical rooms to private rooms at an estimated capital cost of $18 million. The CFO will support the project only if projected payback is under seven years.
662 words, about 3 min2Turning 'Calm and Safe' into Measurable Objectives on a Behavioral Health Unit
A 24-bed inpatient pediatric behavioral health unit is entering schematic design. The steering committee's stated goal is 'a calm, safe environment that reduces seclusion and restraint.' Members disagree sharply about what that means physically.
625 words, about 3 min3A $1.4 Million Courtyard and a Single Retrospective Study
Your team is designing a 30-bed cancer care pavilion and must decide whether to spend $1.4 million on an interior courtyard visible from 60% of patient rooms. A team member found a retrospective study of 214 patients at one academic hospital reporting that patients whose rooms faced a garden had a mean length of stay 1.2 days shorter (p = 0.03) than patients facing a parking structure.
683 words, about 3 min4Eight Months In: Did the Single-Family NICU Rooms Work?
Eight months after opening a new 32-bed NICU with all single-family rooms, hospital leadership asks your EBD team: 'Did the private rooms improve outcomes?' The data you can get: a parent satisfaction survey returned by 22% of families, versus 61% response in the old unit; nurse turnover at 19% against 11% system-wide; average LOS down 2 days; and breastfeeding at discharge up 8 percentage points. Meanwhile the unit moved to 12-hour shifts, launched a nurse residency program, and adopted a new feeding protocol.
665 words, about 3 min5The Mock-Up Debrief: Corridor Boxes and an Absent Physician Group
During a two-week mock-up of a prototype emergency department exam room, three conflicts surface. Security requires an unobstructed sightline from the central station.
637 words, about 3 min