As technology advancements continue to streamline healthcare and improve patient outcomes, the personal touch of a professional interior designer can help. A telemetry lab, command center, or radiology lab that is thoughtfully designed—from the layout and lighting to the desks and colors—is proven to improve productivity, employee health and satisfaction, and, most importantly, patient care. Read on for six ways a degreed and experienced designer can help optimize a new or remodeled healthcare space.
- Selecting the Right Desks
Most healthcare environments demand adjustable sit-to-stand ergonomic desks as a starting place. These desks protect employee health and productivity by preventing repetitive stress injuries and eyestrain while introducing the opportunity for movement to those in sedentary jobs. But these types of healthcare and radiology desks need to go far beyond fitting the healthcare professionals themselves.
The size and shape of the desk needs to ensure that all the tools of the trade are at employees’ fingertips. In addition to the typical computer, keyboard, mouse, and phone, a healthcare desk may need to accommodate four to eight monitors, a printer, microphone, paper files, and reference books. An experienced designer can be invaluable in selecting the right size and shape of desk for the individuals, the equipment, and the space in the room. (Check out this handy checklist of healthcare desk features to consider with the help of a designer.)
- Configuring the Space with a Fully Custom Layout
The layout process is not about shoehorning desks into the space. It’s about evaluating the amount of space, the number of desks, and the work, workflow, and communication styles to develop an educated solution. The ideal space offers efficiency, comfort, and easy communications while providing for specifics such as sightlines to wall screens and privacy as needed. Plus, the designer will consider any obstructions in the room and comply with ADA, electrical, and fire safety regulations. Designers experienced in healthcare work closely with clients to develop, review, and fine tune the layout until it’s perfect. See the many factors involved in layout and review tips here.
- Controlling Sound and Offering Privacy with Panels
While selecting desks and laying out a room, designers often suggest adding panels to reduce noise and create private spaces without impacting communications. The highly customizable panel systems available today offer various heights, materials, colors, and configurations that are ideal for healthcare spaces. For example, a designer might suggest half-walls of acoustic panels with built-in cable management topped by clear acrylic with personalized lighting so employees can communicate while not necessarily seeing and hearing everything their neighbors are doing. Healthcare centers can definitely learn from 911 dispatch centers, which often use a mix of fabric, acrylic, whiteboard, and laminate panels to suit all their needs.
- Lighting the Way
Lighting is essential to getting the job done in healthcare. And the right lighting is essential to getting it done without eyestrain and headaches. To achieve this, an experienced designer considers everything from the natural light and overhead lighting to each desk’s personal lighting climate. Creating a customizable lighting climate with optional bias lights, task lights, and lighting on the panel systems, monitor arcs, and footwells ensures employees are in the right light for any given job. Plus, it gives workers a sense of control that improves morale and productivity. To that end, a designer may suggest customizable light colors (such as those offered by Xybix) to impact circadian rhythms.
- Choosing Colors
As Smithsonian Magazine reminds us, “We definitely tend to link colors with emotions.” Red = angry, blue = sad, green = envy. In healthcare spaces, you definitely want to set the right mood with color, easing anxiety for patients while energizing workers. But there’s so much more to color selection. At Xybix, our professional designers consider four color factors when helping design healthcare spaces: functionality, environment, tradition, and longevity. All the color selections in the room need to work together, with the lighting and other décor, to create a mood while serving practical needs and outlasting any color trends.
- Understanding the Ergonomics
A designer experienced in healthcare spaces should be able to go beyond suggesting an ergonomic desk—the designer needs to explain how to use it. The ergonomic features do nothing if they’re not being used and used properly. For shared workstations, employees should be able to make a few quick adjustments and start working plus be able to seamlessly alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day. To do that, the designer should explain how to achieve the right desk height for sitting/standing and the proper viewing angle/distance for monitors plus offer tips on posture, wrist position, standing mats, ergonomic chairs, and more.
The Vendor Matters
As you consider a healthcare space new build or remodel, start talking to furniture vendors right away. Here at Xybix, an experienced healthcare salesperson and designer can help you get started at no charge. Check out some of the work we’ve done here and how it impacts employee and patient health.
Have any questions or comments? As always, please let us know!
