BERLIN Worcester County stu-
dents presented their award-win-
ning design for a new emergency
department waiting room to repre-
sentatives of Atlantic General Hos-
pital (AGH) last Friday.
Having taken the top prize in
Maryland, the design will now be
competing at the national level.
A community partnership project,
the re-design was a collaboration
between Worcester Technical High
School's (WTHS) Biomedical Sci-
ence and Pre-Engineering pro-
grams. A total of 18 students took
part in the program, 16 from Bio-
medical and two from Pre-En-
gineering. The cumulative idea for a
new emergency department waiting
room included improvements such
as bamboo flooring, modular furni-
ture, a skylight pyramid, a green
roof and separate patient waiting
zones for the sick, injured and out-
patients.
There was an emphasis on com-
bating germs with the furniture be-
ing antimicrobial and the skylight al-
lowing germicidal UV light into the
area. Additionally, the layout of the
room was planned in such a way
that there would be more privacy
and better direct access from area
to area.
The green roof proposed by stu-
dents would be truly green and in-
clude plants and a miniature pool.
The idea was to provide another re-
laxing space for patients to visit
while recovering. It was modeled af-
ter the existing courtyard.
Working with such a huge collabo-
ration was an incredible experience,
according to WTHS student Angelia
Talley. Talley is enrolled in the Bio-
medical Science
program and told
the audience at last
week's presenta-
tion that she finds it
deeply rewarding.
"This program
has given all of us
the opportunity to
peruse different
medical careers in
the real world
through intern-
ships, and has also
given a way to sort
of refine our ideas
on what we want to
do with our lives,"
she said.
Other students
in both Biomedical and Pre-En-
gineering echoed Talley. It's a com-
mon philosophy shared by many at
the school, said Caroline Bloxom,
principal for WTHS.
"I just want to say that career and
technology education, I think, is
having a fantastic renewal," she
said. "With all of the efforts now for
students who graduate from our
high schools to be both college and
career ready, I think you see that
here with these students."
That readiness has already
translated into outside acclaim in
the form of a $20,000 award from
the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow
contest. WTHS was awarded the
top prize in Maryland and is now
moving on to compete for $140,000
nationally.
"They went up against 2,500
applications and came out as the
sole winner," said Bloxom.
Besides any prizes, which will be
used to bolster programs at WTHS,
the collaboration has provided im-
measurable experience for the 18
seniors, continued Bloxom.
"I think that this project, this col-
laboration with AGH, has taken us a
step even above internships," she
said.Bloxom thanked AGH manage-
ment and CEO/President Michael
Franklin for allowing students ac-
cess to the hospital and for being
supportive throughout.
"It's a good design, it really is,"
said Franklin. "It is a much better
design than what we have."
Lou Taylor, assistant superinten-
dent for administration in Worces-
ter, was in a unique position to offer
feedback as he also sits on AGH's
board of directors.
"I wear two hats in here today,
obviously as a member of the Board
of Trustees here at the hospital and
working for the school system," he
said. "From the school system
standpoint, again, impressive is a
minor word in this process. Not only
what you did today and we were
able to see but how you represent-
ed it as our students and the way
you spoke."
The students sent a collective
thanks to Tracy Hunter and Valerie
Ziglejeva, WTHS' instructors of Bio-
medical Science and Pre-Engineer-
ing, respectively.
As AGH looks to remodel their e-
mergency department waiting room
in the future, the students hope that
the hospital may choose to incorpo-
rate some or all of their recommen-
dations into the physical renova-
tions.
Tech School Students Present ER Waiting Area Designs
Page 42
January 24, 2014
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By TRAVIS BROWN
STAFF WRITER
Worcester Technical High School students outline
their emergency room waiting area design at AGH last
Friday.
Photo by Travis Brown