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Back to Home > Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 Living Posted on Thu, Apr. 27, 2006 email this print this
According to a report by the Center for Health Systems and Design in Lafayette, Calif., hospital patients heal more quickly in a comfortable, attractive environment. A little luxury doesn't hurt, either.
"The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Life Opportunity," published in 2004, surveyed more than 600 studies published in medical journals that linked the physical environment with patient and staff outcomes. The study's purpose was to take advantage of the unprecedented expansion in health care facilities under way across the country.
"Patients are more comfortable, more relaxed," said Kathy Bridges, a registered nurse and vice president of ortho-neuro services at Blake Medical Center.
"The main thing is communication and education on the processes, to focus on what's going to happen next, keeping them involved in their plan of care, answering their questions, including the family," Bridges said.
Blake and Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, which has all private rooms, offer convertible twin beds or recliners for patients' families to spend as much time as they wish in the room, including spending the night. (Blake and Doctors Hospital converted their labor-and-delivery rooms to orthopedic rooms when they discontinued those services.) Because they spend more time in the room, family members have the opportunity to observe daily care that may have to continue at home.
Lucretia Tuffile is one of three concierges available on the orthopedic floor at Doctors Hospital from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The concierge maintains a DVD-movie library, will assist with e-mail or Internet searches, and will even run out for special food requests, such as a favorite flavor of ice cream. Some rooms have mini-refrigerators with freezers. The concierge can fulfill most requests.
Patricia Driscoll, director of marketing and communications at Doctors Hospital, said that "peacefulness and reduced stress" promotes healing, along with good medical practices.
Blake and Doctors Hospital maintain a "Java Joint" on their orthopedic floors with complimentary pastries and cappuccino, lattes and hot chocolate.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital, an 825-bed non-profit facility, provides roving refreshment carts with complimentary beverages for families so they can stay in emergency rooms or critical care units.
"Although we do not market our offerings as 'concierge services,' Sarasota Memorial's care model includes a 'Healing Hospitality' philosophy that recognizes the positive impact that a professional and courteous staff, a pleasant atmosphere and surrounding, and good food can have on your overall well-being and health," according to Kim Savage, senior communications editor at Sarasota Memorial.
Gourmet meals, at an extra cost, are provided on request for all patients at Sarasota Memorial. For patients requiring longer stays, the hospital also offers private rooms with views of Sarasota Bay and furniture that allow a guest to stay the night.
Area hospitals interviewed for this article do not charge extra for private rooms. Private rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, or ordered by medical need. Older hospitals - such as Sarasota Memorial and Manatee Memorial - have more semi-private rooms, but newer hospitals tend to be designed with all private rooms.
Design considerations for health-care facilities are unique enough that two years ago members of the International Interior Design Association began an organization to certify designers of health-care facilities.
Amy Lopez, director of the interior design studio for Watkins Hamilton Ross Architects in Houston, is a founding member of the fledgling America Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers.
"We typically come from the standpoint of approaching design by allowing the environment to be supportive of healing," Lopez said. "Stress has been proven to exacerbate any illness."
"With hard flooring versus carpeting, each facility could have a different answer," she said. "From the basic research, you can learn that carpeting can hold funk, but with hard flooring, there is no place for airborne bacteria to go, so the carpet could act as a filter. It might be better to have carpeting, because when you walk on hard flooring, you could stir things up."
Even though the Center for Healthcare Design found more than 600 articles on issues such as these, there is still a need for more academic research, Lopez said.
Researchers who authored the study linking the built environment with patient health found more than 200 articles dealing with hospital-induced infection or illness, leading to the Center for Healthcare Design's strong recommendation for private rooms for nearly all patients.
Manatee Memorial Hospital, which opened in the 1950s, will eliminate all of its three- and four-bed rooms this year with the completion of a $50 million expansion. The addition will enable the hospital to relocate 122 beds within its 319-bed facility.
Universal Health Care, the corporate parent of Manatee Memorial, also opened Lakewood Ranch Medical Center in 2004. The 120-bed hospital has nearly all private rooms, said Vernon DeSear, vice present of marketing and business development at Manatee Memorial.
"That is first and foremost for the patient," he said. "But now we are seeing that more and more businesses have gone to a 'service-excellence approach,' and health care needs to do that as well."
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) says there isn't enough proof that nonstick cookware causes cancer for consumers to toss the stuff yet. AICR's statement followed a decision by an Environmental Protection Agency committee to call perfluorooctanoic acid - used to make nonstick coatings - a likely carcinogen.
A lawsuit charges sunscreen makers with exaggerating the protection their products offer against cancer-causing UVA rays. Coppertone maker Schering-Plough "vigorously disputed" the charges and said its products meet FDA rules.
This is cache, read story here
According to a report by the Center for Health Systems and Design in Lafayette, Calif., hospital patients heal more quickly in a comfortable, attractive environment. A little luxury doesn't hurt, either.
"The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Life Opportunity," published in 2004, surveyed more than 600 studies published in medical journals that linked the physical environment with patient and staff outcomes. The study's purpose was to take advantage of the unprecedented expansion in health care facilities under way across the country.
"Patients are more comfortable, more relaxed," said Kathy Bridges, a registered nurse and vice president of ortho-neuro services at Blake Medical Center.
"The main thing is communication and education on the processes, to focus on what's going to happen next, keeping them involved in their plan of care, answering their questions, including the family," Bridges said.
Blake and Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, which has all private rooms, offer convertible twin beds or recliners for patients' families to spend as much time as they wish in the room, including spending the night. (Blake and Doctors Hospital converted their labor-and-delivery rooms to orthopedic rooms when they discontinued those services.) Because they spend more time in the room, family members have the opportunity to observe daily care that may have to continue at home.
Lucretia Tuffile is one of three concierges available on the orthopedic floor at Doctors Hospital from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. The concierge maintains a DVD-movie library, will assist with e-mail or Internet searches, and will even run out for special food requests, such as a favorite flavor of ice cream. Some rooms have mini-refrigerators with freezers. The concierge can fulfill most requests.
Patricia Driscoll, director of marketing and communications at Doctors Hospital, said that "peacefulness and reduced stress" promotes healing, along with good medical practices.
Blake and Doctors Hospital maintain a "Java Joint" on their orthopedic floors with complimentary pastries and cappuccino, lattes and hot chocolate.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital, an 825-bed non-profit facility, provides roving refreshment carts with complimentary beverages for families so they can stay in emergency rooms or critical care units.
"Although we do not market our offerings as 'concierge services,' Sarasota Memorial's care model includes a 'Healing Hospitality' philosophy that recognizes the positive impact that a professional and courteous staff, a pleasant atmosphere and surrounding, and good food can have on your overall well-being and health," according to Kim Savage, senior communications editor at Sarasota Memorial.
Gourmet meals, at an extra cost, are provided on request for all patients at Sarasota Memorial. For patients requiring longer stays, the hospital also offers private rooms with views of Sarasota Bay and furniture that allow a guest to stay the night.
Area hospitals interviewed for this article do not charge extra for private rooms. Private rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, or ordered by medical need. Older hospitals - such as Sarasota Memorial and Manatee Memorial - have more semi-private rooms, but newer hospitals tend to be designed with all private rooms.
Design considerations for health-care facilities are unique enough that two years ago members of the International Interior Design Association began an organization to certify designers of health-care facilities.
Amy Lopez, director of the interior design studio for Watkins Hamilton Ross Architects in Houston, is a founding member of the fledgling America Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers.
"We typically come from the standpoint of approaching design by allowing the environment to be supportive of healing," Lopez said. "Stress has been proven to exacerbate any illness."
"With hard flooring versus carpeting, each facility could have a different answer," she said. "From the basic research, you can learn that carpeting can hold funk, but with hard flooring, there is no place for airborne bacteria to go, so the carpet could act as a filter. It might be better to have carpeting, because when you walk on hard flooring, you could stir things up."
Even though the Center for Healthcare Design found more than 600 articles on issues such as these, there is still a need for more academic research, Lopez said.
Researchers who authored the study linking the built environment with patient health found more than 200 articles dealing with hospital-induced infection or illness, leading to the Center for Healthcare Design's strong recommendation for private rooms for nearly all patients.
Manatee Memorial Hospital, which opened in the 1950s, will eliminate all of its three- and four-bed rooms this year with the completion of a $50 million expansion. The addition will enable the hospital to relocate 122 beds within its 319-bed facility.
Universal Health Care, the corporate parent of Manatee Memorial, also opened Lakewood Ranch Medical Center in 2004. The 120-bed hospital has nearly all private rooms, said Vernon DeSear, vice present of marketing and business development at Manatee Memorial.
"That is first and foremost for the patient," he said. "But now we are seeing that more and more businesses have gone to a 'service-excellence approach,' and health care needs to do that as well."
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) says there isn't enough proof that nonstick cookware causes cancer for consumers to toss the stuff yet. AICR's statement followed a decision by an Environmental Protection Agency committee to call perfluorooctanoic acid - used to make nonstick coatings - a likely carcinogen.
A lawsuit charges sunscreen makers with exaggerating the protection their products offer against cancer-causing UVA rays. Coppertone maker Schering-Plough "vigorously disputed" the charges and said its products meet FDA rules.
This is cache, read story here
