Camp Chakano - The Family Ward

Designed with a tree house theme, Camp Chakano is a ward specifically redesigned for young families. It is located on the ground floor for convenience and accessibility, but this is tempered with generous security for the children's safety. Like many of the wards, it works on a key card system, and all exits and entries are logged on a computer inside the nurse's station.

Inside, safety is a primary concern, and the designers created a common room that was both aesthetically pleasing and functional. The walls are painted to resemble a forest canopy and the furniture blends in with the surroundings, just as though you are living among the trees. Everything is, of course, fully baby proofed, so parents and children alike can relax in this room without worry. Young children may enjoy climbing on foamy 'tree trunks' or exploring a soft, fluffy 'nest' where they can bounce, roll, and snooze. Soft music plays through hidden speakers, which can be controlled inside the closed off nurse's station.

To one side, there is a panel that opens into a window into the kitchen when pressed at the top. Here parents and older children can retrieve quick conveniences like bottles, washcloths, and small snacks. The main door to the kitchen opens by way of a Youth or Adult keycard, so older children and adults can enter but not smaller children. The kitchen is a bit more demure than the common room, done in mossy greens and dark woods with rounded edges. Child safety locks are in full effect here, so technically one could bring a small child inside while they prepared a meal - there is even a playpen designed to look like a hollowed tree off to one side.

To the opposite side of the common room is the door to the nurses' station, which, like the kitchen, is accessible only with the right card. Adults can open the door to this room, where in addition to the computer system that runs the security and sound, parents can find over the counter and herbal medicines, band aids and bandages, and various other items for the mild illnesses and injuries small children are liable to contract. This room looks slightly more clinical, though there are still framed pictures of trees and forests on the walls. The message that this is not a place for playing is, however, quite clear.

The first few rooms off of the common room are, however, ideal places for play of all kinds. Rooms are separated by activity and always include a comfortable place for the parents to join their children or supervise from a short distance. One room sports a plasma television, where children can enjoy the latest films from their mushroom shaped perches. Another room includes leaf shaped bins that hold every sort of art supply imaginable, while the one across from it is the perfect spot for a family game night.

Further back, the noise level goes down as you reach the quiet rooms, for studying, relaxing and napping. These rooms have paintings that show more sky through the canopy, revealing glowing starry patterns in the napping room and bright cloudy skies in the studying room. The parent's break room, where no children are allowed, hosts mellow sunset hues.

Finally, we reach the suites where individual families reside. Much of the space in the ward is communal but families do need their own space and this department of the ward accommodates that need. The original rooms have been largely gutted and replaced with comfortable suites for families of various sizes, including a master room, one or two bathrooms, a modest living area and children's rooms.