Everyone needs to visit the hospital at some point, but no one looks forward to the typical hospital environment: sterile walls with stuffy decor, being confined to a bed, hearing echoey hallways, and nothing to do but stare out the window. Yuck!
While that may be the norm, it’s by no means the best—and improving the patient experience at a hospital doesn’t have to be complicated, either. Whether you’re in the process of ground-up renovations or just looking for inspiration for day-to-day enhancements, look no further.
While a hospital isn’t everyone’s idea of a night well spent, it can at least be attractive and interesting to look at. Choosing a pleasing color palette—either a different palette for each floor, area, or just one for the entire building—is an easy face-lift option because you can’t miss. Look at a color wheel and consider complimentary, opposite colors that work naturally together, like variations on blue and orange or purple and yellow. Half the battle is won already.
Emphasize your chosen palette with artwork, window treatments, plants, and flooring choices. Solar Art’s creative team can design a modern blue and orange graphic art wall film to line your hallways. The possibilities are endless, but it all starts with a great color palette.
If you have the space, consider creating open-air spots for your patients and their families to stretch their legs and get some sunshine. Your employees will appreciate it, too. Small medical facilities might use an enclosed courtyard. Bigger campuses with more patients could use an open grounds surrounding the facility. No matter your size, don’t forget to include seating and plants, and maybe a small playground for kids.
With hard floors and walls, sound travels easily in hospitals. If you’re renovating and or building a hospital space, consider building sound-proof walls that absorb sounds instead of echoing them. Look also at your building-wide audio system: update and maintain it to avoid harsh speaker noise, improve audio clarity, and even consider playing soft background music during the day to distract from hospital ruckus and create privacy.
Finally, the patient experience is holistic, and not limited to just the building itself. We often hear about animals that visit patients—maybe a permanent hospital cat, or a dog that visits children. Investing in sessions with stress-relieving animals, hiring masked superheroes, or even group activities like games and book clubs results in a big payoff in happier patients.
We’ve covered just a few ways a hospital can improve patient experience. Our team at Solar Art can start you in the right direction, beginning with affordable window treatments that improve room comfort and save you money. Be the facility people want to stay at, not just for your cutting-edge medical assistance, but also because you make your patients feel welcome.
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think