1. Virtual Path: A Novel Learning
Solution for New Hospitals
Diana Halfer MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Julia Hooper, MS
Kim Evans, BA
Clinical and Organizational Development
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

2. Overview
• Replacement children’s hospital project
• Moment One Readiness Orientation and
Training Plan
• Virtual Path to the Future
2

3. Moving

4. A Larger Skyscraper Hospital
Current State Future State
• Neighborhood-urban • Downtown-urban
• 600K square feet • 1.25M square feet
• 270 beds • 288 beds
• Small (125 sf) semi- • Large (290 sf) private
private rooms rooms
• 36% ICU beds • 44% ICU beds
• 17 OR/procedure rooms • 26 OR/procedure rooms
• 26 bed ED • 45 bed ED on 2nd floor
• 131 clinic exam rooms • 178 clinic exam rooms

5. A multi-year project: 8 years to plan and build
Planning & Programming Design and Construction
Phase 1 Program Exterior Design
Development
Site Selection Interior Design
Phase 2 Program
Development Excavation/
Foundation
Opening
Steel Frame June 9th
2012
Exterior
Construction
Interior Construction
Groundbreaking
Transition Planning
’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ‘12

6. Commitment to Employees & Physicians
• Ensure and validate that all employees and
physicians can work safely and effectively to
support patient care within Lurie Children’s.
• This means the ability to
– Locate, access and use spaces, systems,
equipment and supplies
– With no delays, no adverse events and with
minimal assistance in urgent situations
– While delivering exceptional service.

7. Summary of Learning Needs
• Navigation and Way
finding
• Equipment and Supplies
• Safety
• Systems and Services
• Processes and
Procedures
7

8. Way finding
The process by which people,
“orient and navigate…to accurately
relocate from one place to another in a
large scale space.” Gluck (1991)

9. Way finding Research
4500 hours
of annual lost productivity due to
poor way finding!
Zimring, C., “The Role of the Physical Environment in
the Hospital of the 21st Century.”
www.rwjf.org/publications/other/RoleofthPhysicalenviro
nment.pdf.)

10. Learning Methods
PHASE 1 PHASE 2
Virtual Path Online Building & Department Hands-On Simulations
to the Learning Safety & Workflow Labs
Future Orientation Orientation
Now to June, January – February – April - May, April - May, April - May,
2012 March, 2012 March, 2012 2012 2012 2012
Move in day: June 9, 2012
10

11. Second Life®

12. Getting Started in Second Life®
Concept Introduction to organizational leaders,
Aug 2007
learning community
Dec 2008 Pilot: Emergency Preparedness inside virtual
Children’s Memorial
Proposal/Approval: Way finding project for new
Jul 2009
hospital
Implementation: Virtual Path to the Future education,
Jul 2010 all Leaders
Implementation: Virtual Path to the Future education,
Sep 2011 all Employees and Physicians

13. Project Cost/Benefit Analysis
• Cost
– Development 75-90k
– Laptops 30k
– Project FTEs
• Benefits
– Time savings
– Improved productivity,
advanced organizer
– Organizational
commitment
– Decreased stress,
conflicts

14. Virtual Path to the Future
• Virtual Hospital in Second Life®
• Emphasis on way finding
– (public and department spaces)
• Virtual labs
• Machinima
• Custom presentations
14

15. Implementation Challenges
• Adopting a “pioneer” mindset
– Developing the project team
• Finding good business partners
– Beyond a Google Search
• Building virtually in advance of physical build
• Scoping the size of the virtual build
– Needs assessment by role
• Providing sufficient detail
– Key landmarks
– No offices
• Adjusting for aging technology infrastructure

16. Enhancing the Learning Experience
• Creating customized avatars by role
– support diversity
• Consolidating server space for stability
– from four islands to one
• Creating a Webpage on Sharepoint
– Orientation video clips
– Interactive maps and floor plans
– Lab schedules and requests

17. Web Launch Page

18. Enhancing the Learning Experience
• Creating interest at Town Hall Meetings
– Making learning fun
– Building excitement for the move

19. Enhancing the Learning Experience
• Creating a custom
viewer
– Instant Avatar
selection
– Simplified interface
– Easy to learn and
move around
• Adding the tour guide
application

20. Tour Guide Application
• Guides users along
predefined routes
• Displays information at
“points of interest”
• Dynamic web-based tool
for creating and
customizing tour routes
and information
• Tours are defined and
configured via website
• None are hardcoded, all
are dynamic

21. Tour Guide Application
• Guides users along
predefined routes
• Displays information at
“points of interest”
• Dynamic web-based tool
for creating and
customizing tour routes
and information
• Tours are defined and
configured via website
• None are hard coded, all
are dynamic

22. Learner Evaluation Data
• 4,738 participants
• Easily oriented to virtual
environment
• Quickly learned navigation
skills
• Appreciated preview of
hospital
• Some wanted more detail
• Identified issues in
preparation for move
“For someone who gets stressed by computer games this
was very doable and fun”

23. Learner Written Comments
• “I am in the new hospital a lot, and this is very
close to how it looks!”
• “While it is very silly to do this, it starts to take
away the fear of the move.”
• “Really helpful and not as hard as I thought it
would be.”
• “Wow, we can use the elevators in the virtual
hospital.”
• “I found the exercise difficult and strenuous on
my eyes. I also felt dizzy navigating….”

24. Benefits for Learning Department
• Recognized by Senior
Management with Earl J.
Fredericks Team Award
for innovation
• Fostered innovation and
creativity: no template to
follow
• Supported talent
development through
new project roles

25. Benefits for Learning Department
• Gained experience
working with technology
consultants
• Provided early building
knowledge and planning
for Moment One
Readiness Orientation
• Impetus for research
study

26. Media Study
• Compares navigation and way finding
knowledge for nurses taught via floor plans and
Virtual Path to the Future
• Assesses route knowledge, survey knowledge,
and direction giving skills after two hours of
instruction

27. Preliminary Trends
• Data analysis in
progress
• Small differences
between groups
– Route
Knowledge
– Survey
Knowledge
– Direction Giving
– Confidence

28. Preliminary Conclusions
• Good instruction trumps medium
• Virtual sense of “presence” may boost confidence
• Floor Plans tend to help with Survey Knowledge
• Direction Giving may be another measure of
Survey Knowledge

29. Key “Take Aways”
• Begin with Senior Leaders ― vision and sponsorship
• Assess the culture ― must be able to support risk taking
• Approach project so that it is
synchronous with strategy
and mission
• Establish good business
partners
• Turn barriers into constraints
e.g. access issues
• To adopt new technology is
truly “A leap of faith”

30. Questions?

31. Contact Information
• Diana Halfer dhalfer@luriechildrens.org
• Julia Hooper jhooper@luriechildrens.org
• Kim Evans kevans@luriechildrens.org
• Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of
Chicago
– http://www/luriechildrens.org
– 225 East Chicago Avenue,
– Chicago, Illinois 60611-2605
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