Hospitals can be uncomfortable spaces. Mentally and physically. Except for a few situations, a visit to a medical facility is always intimidating due to the nature of the visit and the possible outcome. Hospital operators and designers have to be mindful of several components and people involved, not just patients. There’s caregivers, visitors, doctors, and other medical staff. There’s a lot of emotion involved, and the least that can be done is to make the physical environment as accomodating as possible.
Picking the right furniture is crucial to a healthcare-focused space. Beyond the quality of care by a doctor, several touch points need attention. The nurse station, administration offices, waiting areas – all of these have their own needs. We have to be thoughtful in our approach to furniture. Guests to face patients when they interact and sleep in the same room comfortably. Everyone associated with caring for patients needs to feel comfortable.
Here are six products we think would elevate the hospital experience for everyone involved.
Let’s start with flooring. There’s people running within hospitals a lot. A lot of repeated, back and forth foot traffic. Medical facilities need flooring solutions that can support these busy environments while needing minimal maintenance. Polysafe QuickLay is a loose lay safety flooring designed for adhesive-free installation and is the ideal solution for healthcare spaces. It also comes with a sustainable slip resistance to prevent slipping and falling.
Acoustics is important to any space, but in healthcare facilities, it’s especially important keeping in mind patient wellbeing. The Akustic 56 by Kaprel is an ideal solution when high-quality glass partitions are needed. It’s an acoustic system available in mullion and mullion free versions, which can be complemented with a variety of Kaprel door options.
One of Herman Miller’s most popular chairs for commercial spaces extends its value to the healthcare industry as well. Ideal for the operations staff in hospitals and clinics, Sayl Chairs use smart material engineering, exceptional ergonomic design, and superior craftsmanship to provide comfort and support to its users. Inspired by suspension bridges, these structures do more while using fewer materials. Its eco-dematerialized design uses the material in innovative ways to become one of the best task chairs in the market.
Surfaces used in healthcare spaces are subjected to more scrutiny than most other products, and for good reason too. In a space where contamination cannot be allowed to spread at any costs and all surfaces must remain clean 24×7, the choice of laminate is critical. Polyrey’s laminates undergo antibacterial treatment with silver ions, have a hygienic coating, and are food contact approved as well.
We should approach designing the visiting and waiting area like we would for our living rooms. The intention is to create a warm and comforting environment, to keep visitors at ease. The Escalas collection of soft-seating is an ideal choice for healthcare lounges and waiting areas. This flexible, modular, and highly configurable collection was designed to inhabit modern lounge spaces and waiting environments.
Finally, let’s not forget ceilings. Fortunately for you, we have products designed just for healthcare facilities. Knauf Ceiling Solutions’ product integrates combines a highly useful level of cleanability, an impressive resistance to disinfectants, and sound absorption. Besides being antimicrobial, its acoustic properties make it useful when reverb control is needed. An ideal ceiling solution for healthcare environments with average or severe risk of infection
