Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.
Issue link: https://mcdmag.epubxp.com/i/509247
terminate in light-fi lled windows when possible. Also, provide easy to see and grab handrails on both sides. The grab bars should preferably be a color that contrasts with the wall. Interconnected and looping corridors facilitate continuous movement. Lastly, family zones in patient rooms enable overnight family stays, which helps relieve stress and can facilitate communication. ORIENTATION Reduce confusion and improve patients' understanding of their environment by deploying a clear graphic wayfi nding system that is easy to see and read with suf cient contrast between letters and background. Create strong, intuitive architectural elements to support wayfi nding. LIGHTING Reducing glare helps patients with impaired vision and reduces confusion. This can be done by utilizing indirect lighting in corridors and patient rooms. Balance light levels between corridors, workstation and rooms so that the lighting is "felt" and not "seen." Window shades in patient and day rooms also help to reduce glare. Design lighting and switching with more control options better suited for patient rooms. ACOUSTICS Walls, fl oors and ceilings should be designed to support privacy and minimize noise transmission. Use sound-absorbing acoustical ceiling tile, and a suspended ceiling system. Specify sound-absorbing wall panels especially in large areas where noise tends to build up. Cover glass and natural fi ber wall panels with a thin, impermeable fi lm to allow for easy cleaning in clinical areas. Use fabric- wrapped wall panels in non-clinical areas where regular cleaning is not required. Above: Floor pattern changes in this waiting area assist wayfi nding, breaking up the corridor. The fl ooring is a no-wax, reduced- glare surface. The color palette used also creates high contrast between the wall and the fl oor plane change to make it easy to see where one ends and the other begins. Left: Insets on the fl oor at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands, Joint Center and The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research provide patients and staff visual markers indicating distances. Staff conducts pacing tests, using markers as a way to measure how quickly and safely patients can travel a specifi c distance. ISSUE FOCUS POPULATION PLANNING 36 Medical Construction & Design | M AY/ J U N E 2015 | MCDM AG.COM