There are a lot of factors that go into a good design: light and noise considerations, prime spatial awareness, easy wayfinding, logical lay-outs… the list goes on. Designing healthcare facilities comes with its own challenges and considerations that many other buildings do not, making the design of medical buildings all the more important when it comes to the details and process-design.
However, designing the right medical building can reap a huge number of benefits, not only for patients, but for staff members. Medical real estate developers, Simone Health, discuss how medical facility design can promote employee satisfaction down below.
Staff-Only Outdoor Space: Incorporating outdoor space into healthcare facilities is an up and coming design trend, but there’s a way to take its benefits to the next level: providing a separate outdoor space for employees. Outdoor spaces are already proven to reduce stress-levels and improve work performance, but there is often one communal outdoor space for all visitors, patients, and staff to relax in. It would be highly beneficial to your staff well-being if there was a section for only staff members, where they can escape from the eyes of patients and their visitors. It’ll provide even more stress-reduction, and allow them to go back to caring for patients with a smile on their face.
Reduced Noise Levels: The noise level of a healthcare center, especially hospitals, if often too loud of a decibel level to be relaxing. Healthcare workers are in a high-stress and noisy environment every hour they’re working, those of which are typically very long. A design consideration that can benefit staff and patients alike is proper soundproofing throughout the entire medical facility. This will bring down the decibel level and provide a less stressful and comfortable environment for everyone, allowing employees to improve their focus and service.
Improved Patient Wayfinding: You may think that improving patient wayfinding only benefits patients and their visitors. Well, there’s a huge benefit in this design consideration for employees as well: not having to deal with lost, wandering patients meandering around the hallways. Ensuring there’s a system in place that allows patients and their visitors to find their way around the facility unassisted allows staff to focus on their tasks and avoid unauthorized folks from entering hallways they’re not supposed to.
Standardization of Medical Tools: One final design consideration is the standardization of medical tools. This is especially helpful in high-volume clinics and emergency departments, where staff members need to act urgently. Having a standard set-up in every patient room ensures that medical staff always know where something is, no matter what room they’re in or what kind of patient issue they’re dealing with. This can reduce stress in these often life-or-death situations, improving the overall employee experience.
“Happy staff make for happy patients. If you want your patient satisfaction levels consistently high, it’s essential to pay attention to the concerns of your staff members who are caring for them. Incorporate some of the suggestions above to give your medical staff the work environment they deserve so they can provide the best service to your patients in return,” said Joe Simone, President of Simone Development Companies.