Their team, inspired by the outdoor community gardens and flower shops near the new Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center facility, chose to develop an herb garden system that would create a nourishing and supportive community.

Read the interview.

Grow, an Herb Garden System – Nurse

Life Essentials, a Welcoming, Micah Spear, Rachel Happ
This group explored how to rethink that all-important first impression. Bringing elements of warmth and personalized attention, Life Essentials is a service that is comprised of a rich and nurturing touch point that comes in the form of a gift-like welcoming kit. Hand-written cards, essential oils and soothing teas are among the items that combined together might impart an experience for the patient to feel like an honored guest.

Warm Welcome, a Patient Navigator, Samuel Lee C, Monica Toledo Fraginals, Stephanie Valencia
Having interviewed several chemotherapy patients, this team chose to focus on the unmet need that patients desired around connecting with another patient or staff member in an emotionally rich way as they begin and return to treatment. The team developed a low tech and high touch concierge service to guide a patient into what they learned is an otherwise unknown, and at times, frightening process.

Grow, an Herb Garden System, Miki Aso, Molly Oberholtzer, Athina Santaguida
Inspired by the outdoor community gardens and flower shops near the new MSK facility, this team chose to develop an herb garden system that would create a nourishing and supportive community. The community garden includes selecting and growing herbs, drying herbs, and making herbal sachets and teas while the support network of the service includes partners, volunteers and how to disseminate appropriate information about herbs to patients.

Sweet Trolley, a Community Gift Shop, Jane Lien, Amalia Goutaki, Payal Patel
After speaking with local businesses, this team identified an underlying network of “business-neighbors,” where local businesses build relationships through promoting and collaborating one another. The Sweet Trolley is one way MSK can become an engaged neighbor and a part of this network. Through carrying items from local businesses, MSK can provide a virtual and mobile gift shop and recreation service to patients.

It’s a very exciting time as we start to see an increase in designers’ interest in the healthcare industry while at the same time healthcare organizations, like Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, have invested and committed to service design improvements throughout it’s organization.

As part of this convergence of healthcare + design, I have developed in conjunction with my colleague, Lara Penin from Parsons the New School for Design, a new service design course in the School of Design Strategies.

In this course students will design innovative scenarios for future healthcare services, addressing a specific healthcare issue (i.e. cancer prevention or care). We will partner with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to provide the right platform for students to be involved with a real life situation.

Students will approach basic theoretical frameworks by which scholars and practitioners understand the notion of service design, researching relevant case studies on service design for health care; and apply this knowledge toward the development of original, insightful, critical explorations on service design for health care.

Course Website: PUIC 2610 IDC Systems: Health Services Innovation