BERLIN–Students at Worcester Technical High School took science and engineering from the classroom to the real world last Friday when they presented their design for a new waiting room for Atlantic General Hospital to a crowd of hospital leaders, teachers and members of the media.
Their project already won first place in the state in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition, which asks students to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to improve their communities, and some parts of the design might very well be incorporated into the hospital’s redesign of its waiting room in upcoming years.
“I am so impressed that I’m lost for words,” Assistant Superintendent for Administration at Worcester Schools and Vice Chair of the hospital’s Board of Trustees Lou Taylor said after the presentation. “It makes me proud.”
The waiting room project stemmed from a standard class task that had the 18 seniors design an imaginary emergency room floor plan, teacher and Director of Biomedical Sciences at the school Tracy Hunter said.
“I wasn’t really satisfied with the end product of that project. It was kind of limited,” Hunter said, so she worked with hospital staff to turn it into a real-world challenge.
“It was really just Tracy calling me and pitching an idea,” Vice President of Planning and Operations at the hospital Kim Justice said. “They have come up with a very creative, very realistic plan.”
The 16 biomedical science students and two on the pre-engineering track worked together through the fall semester on the design to meet parameters from improving the flow of patients through the waiting room to meeting ADA requirements and sustainability standards. Their plan included everything from skylights and a rooftop garden to separate waiting room spaces for sick and injured patients.
Some students visited the hospital on their own time, gathering measurements and other information for the design, Hunter said.
While the actual redesign of AGH’s waiting room is still several years off, “it’s our hope that we can take one aspect, or a few, and incorporate them into our design,” Justice said.
The class already won $20,000 for Worcester Tech when its design outcompeted other projects in the state in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. The students will represent Maryland in the national competition, where they are in the running for $125,000 more for their school.
“It’s a great design. It really is. It’s much better than what we have,” President and CEO of AGH Michael Franklin said.
Their project already won first place in the state in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition, which asks students to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to improve their communities, and some parts of the design might very well be incorporated into the hospital’s redesign of its waiting room in upcoming years.
“I am so impressed that I’m lost for words,” Assistant Superintendent for Administration at Worcester Schools and Vice Chair of the hospital’s Board of Trustees Lou Taylor said after the presentation. “It makes me proud.”
The waiting room project stemmed from a standard class task that had the 18 seniors design an imaginary emergency room floor plan, teacher and Director of Biomedical Sciences at the school Tracy Hunter said.
“I wasn’t really satisfied with the end product of that project. It was kind of limited,” Hunter said, so she worked with hospital staff to turn it into a real-world challenge.
“It was really just Tracy calling me and pitching an idea,” Vice President of Planning and Operations at the hospital Kim Justice said. “They have come up with a very creative, very realistic plan.”
The 16 biomedical science students and two on the pre-engineering track worked together through the fall semester on the design to meet parameters from improving the flow of patients through the waiting room to meeting ADA requirements and sustainability standards. Their plan included everything from skylights and a rooftop garden to separate waiting room spaces for sick and injured patients.
Some students visited the hospital on their own time, gathering measurements and other information for the design, Hunter said.
While the actual redesign of AGH’s waiting room is still several years off, “it’s our hope that we can take one aspect, or a few, and incorporate them into our design,” Justice said.
The class already won $20,000 for Worcester Tech when its design outcompeted other projects in the state in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. The students will represent Maryland in the national competition, where they are in the running for $125,000 more for their school.
“It’s a great design. It really is. It’s much better than what we have,” President and CEO of AGH Michael Franklin said.