Of all the recent changes in hospital interior design, perhaps the most dramatic have taken place in the patient room. Patient rooms have been transformed from cold, strictly utilitarian spaces into clean, safe, therapeutic environments with the comforts of home and the aesthetics and amenities of a fine hotel.
Work by such groups as Planetree, a Derby, Conn.-based nonprofit organization that promotes patient-centered health care, The Center for Health Design, a research and advocacy group in Concord, Calif., that studies the measurable impact of evidence-based design in health facilities, and others has led designers, architects and hospital leaders to rethink patient room design.
Impact on patients
“Hospitals are sensitized to the impact of the physical environment on reducing patients’ level of anxiety,” says interior designer Kim
Cicchella, ASID, of Detroit, Mich.-based architecture firm Albert Kahn Associates Inc.
Designers are working to meet the medical and technological requirements of the patient room, as well as the patient’s personal needs. New design techniques are being employed in patient rooms to increase safety, improve outcomes and make the rooms more efficient for staff, patients and families.
For example, the latest edition of the Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities by the Facilities Guidelines Institute, American Institute of Architects Academy of Architecture for Health and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (the resource commonly known as the “AIA Guidelines”) stipulates private patient rooms for many types of new hospital construction. This has had a major influence on interior designers’ ability to create hospital rooms that more closely resemble hotel rooms or bedrooms.
New developments in manufacturing have kept pace, providing designers with an array of products that provide a soothing, homelike look with the durability and cleanability needed in a hospital setting.
“You can now find on the market a plethora of simulated natural materials that are working very well. Manufacturers are putting a tremendous amount of effort into coming up with new products that look natural,” says Steve Borgquist, president of Del Mar, Calif.-based interior design firm Interspec. “The simulated wood floors, simulated wood paneling, laminates that are stonelike in quality—all those things are really strong and will continue to be, because they’re terrific,” he says.
“The homelike aesthetic is important,” says Planetree President Susan Frampton. “People would really prefer to be at home when they don’t feel well.”
Details like fine bed linens, artwork and cabinetry contribute to this aesthetic.
Cabinetry and artwork frequently disguise some of the patient room’s more intimidating medical equipment when it is not in use. Companies including Hill-Rom Inc., Batesville, Ind., and Modular Services Co., Oklahoma City, manufacture headwalls that hide medical gas outlets behind cabinet doors or framed pictures that can be moved out of the way when the equipment is needed. “Those kinds of applications are very helpful in creating a more welcoming environment than we’ve seen in the past,” says Frampton.
Well-designed cabinetry for storing supplies and personal belongings reduces clutter in the room for a more peaceful overall environment.
While certain items are tucked away in the patient room, others are highlighted. Care is being taken to provide patients with shelving to display flowers and cards where they can be seen easily from the bed.
As natural light and views have been shown to have a therapeutic effect on patients, windows have assumed increased importance in the patient room. Draperies and valances can soften the room’s appearance. Roller shades, such as those offered by Long Island City, N.Y.-based MechoShade Systems Inc., are popular because they are easy-to-clean and have different levels of opacity, from complete blackout to filtered natural light.
Low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints are widely used in patient rooms to avoid off-gassing, the release of volatile chemicals into the air. Muted colors are often chosen so as not to interfere with caregivers’ assessments of patients. “Color in patient rooms needs to be carefully applied so that it doesn’t affect visual impressions like skin tone,” says Borgquist. Corner guards and chair rails help protect the painted surfaces.
Patient bathrooms have been upgraded with features such as solid-surface countertops, framed mirrors and decorative tile.
Providing patient control
Rooms are also being designed to grant patients more control over their surroundings. This can be accomplished by something as simple as placing lighting controls within the patient’s reach or as sophisticated as installing a bedside computing and patient communication, education and entertainment system.
These systems, from companies like Cardinal Health, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TeleHealth Services of Raleigh, N.C., and GetWellNetwork Inc., Bethesda, Md., give patients a wide range of options. Patients can use them for everything from accessing the Internet or watching television and movies to obtaining medical information, ordering meals or requesting a change in room temperature.
“We’re trying to place control of the care environment in patients’ hands,” says Michael O’Neil Jr., founder and CEO of GetWellNetwork. Since a patient’s room is the centerpiece of his or her hospital stay, O’Neil says, it is important to optimize the experience of that room.
In addition to providing many more services than a standard wall-mounted television set, these systems offer more in terms of design. “In the past, hospitals were stuck with using a 19- or 20-inch [cathode ray tube], which really protruded into the patient and visitor room space,” says Dan Nathan, TeleHealth vice president and general manager. “Now they have the option of going to a flat panel [liquid crystal display] and moving … all the way to 32 inches on a hospital-grade television, which is a tremendous improvement.” The newer sets have a higher resolution and are less intrusive, making them more appealing to look at whether they are turned on or off.
Other products allow patients to customize the appearance of their room. For example, SkylineComboBoards by Houston-based Skyline Art Services feature a variety of interchangeable components to organize the patient’s footwall, including magnetic artwork patients can select to match their personal taste.
Private patient rooms are commonly divided into separate caregiver, patient and family zones. The family zone makes it easier for patients to keep their family nearby, even overnight.
The separate caregiver zone provides room for a staff hand-washing sink—an important infection control measure. This area can also include storage space for common supplies, which lessens staff walking distances and can enable nurses to respond to patients’ needs more quickly. Separate lighting controls in the caregiver zone can reduce nighttime disruptions for patients.
Cost considerations
While the interior design of hospital patient rooms has improved substantially, costs have not necessarily risen accordingly.
“Patients are really looking for more sophisticated and refined interiors, but good design does not have to cost you more,” says Louise Nicholson Carter, principal and founder of Carter Design Associates, Houston. She adds, “Hiring a certified health care interior designer is critical to ensuring that a project will achieve appropriate design solutions, through balanced application of creativity, maintainability and safety within an established budget.”
Certified designers in the United States can be found through the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at www.aahid.org.
Amy Eagle is a Homewood, Ill.-based freelance writer who is a regular contributor to Health Facilities Management.
This article first appeared in the June 2007 issue of HFM.
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