Glass front facades, fireplaces in the lounges, stone and wood surround comfortable seating areas and spacious cafes with lots of light for relaxing dining greet patients and family members when they enter the hospital.
Long gone are the sterile, whitewashed, disinfectant smelling institutions of hospitals past.
Local architects say those built since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 have been designed for patient, family and staff comfort.
“Hospitals are more like hotels,” said Joe Dougherty, principal healthcare, behavioral health for FCArchitects, Philadelphia, who works with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. “They now have cafes and restaurants because the emphasis is on family comfort.”
Even before the pandemic hit, Dougherty said the increase in cleanliness is not only in the materials used to build new facilities, but the air quality is better. “The emphasis is on the environment and what it can do for the patients,” he said.
“At St. Luke’s (University Health Network), we connect the design to the local community,” said Elizabeth Shrock, project manager and interior design coordinator for the network. “We’ve reached out to the local communities, the local artists to personalize the campus.”
All of St. Luke’s facilities have a common theme with color and texture, but each facility shows off artwork and décor that fits with the community. The Carbon campus, for example, has antique skis because it’s close to a ski resort.
Overall, she said, the design utilizes softer seating, color palettes that are shades of blue, although not pastel. “We use navy, indigo and other shades because they are calming, peaceful colors. They are classic and timely when used with earth tones.”
Jennifer Fink, senior healthcare designer/planner for BDA Architects, Bethlehem, who works with local healthcare organizations, said the patient experience and convenience is the driving force behind the designs. “When you pull up to the entrance to a hospital you immediately get a visual. The entrance points, parking and valet parking are all visible and easy to find. No more parking garages.”
Once inside, Fink said most facilities have greeters or receptionists that say “Hi” and direct patients where to go so they can get where they need to be in an efficient manner.
All three said the layout of the hospital has changed, making outpatient testing easier for patients. Shrock said the cafeterias, laboratories and outpatient procedure areas are located near the main entrance to help patients navigate where they are going.
“It’s all about getting to the right people at the right time at the right place,” Fink said. “We want patients to have an experience.”
Patients aren’t the only focus in new designs, they said. Families and staff are taken into consideration. All new rooms are private, and many are designed to allow a family member to stay overnight. The lounge areas, once called waiting rooms, are designed to make family members comfortable.
For the staff, larger lounges with lots of windows to bring in natural light are built in so staff can take breaks in comfort. Some are even called zen rooms.
Fink said the natural light helps staff relax on breaks. “There are also walking paths and gardens where people can eat outside and get fresh air. This is particularly important for those working 12-hour shifts. It can make all the difference,” she said.
Dougherty said too that ergonomics have changed. “There are permanent lifts in each room to keep staff from having to lift patients. Lifts have been around for a long time, but they are being used more now.”
Hospitals, he said, “used to do more for less. They have seen that is not the way to go. When you spend more money, you see more market share.”
Also in the new designs is modern technology. While it is behind the main scene, technology helps nurses because patient records are always at hand. “There are no paper files that they used to have to look for,” Dougherty said.
“Electronics takes the guess work out of caring for patients, especially with medications. The patients’ arm bands are scanned to match their medications, and everything goes right to billing so nurses can focus on care,” he said.
The rooms are also equipped to be user friendly. “You are going to see a lot more of this in the next few years,” he said. With technology like Alexa and Google, patients can use voice commands to close blinds, turn on televisions and even call the nurse.
“We want every advantage we can get. We want to care for patients and be competitive at the same time,” she said. “It makes sense for everyone and keeps re-admissions down.”
Fink said the shift towards patient convenience, while seen in all hospitals today, is why so many hospitals are being built. The idea, she said, is patients don’t have to travel far distances to get medical help because the hospital has come to their neighborhood.
“This is a fundamental shift. Outpatient centers are being built everywhere for the patients’ convenience.” If the patient doesn’t need to be in a hospital, he or she can go to an outpatient center close to home.
The same amenities are applied in the outpatient centers to make people feel calmer and more comfortable, said Fink.
The outside area, however, is not as important for the outpatient facilities because people come and go. The emphasis on outside space, they said, is focused on the hospital sites where family, staff and even patients need time outside to breathe.
