New insights recently released from Steelcase Health underscore the importance of family participation during a patient’s hospital stay and highlight how patient room design can impact family experiences and influence patient satisfaction and outcomes. The company’s findings also reveal that, in most current patient room settings, many family members still have significant unmet needs.
Well-designed healthcare environments can be a powerful tool in supporting a family’s ability to meaningfully engage in their loved one’s care, but many hospitals have yet to fully harness their spaces to maximize this engagement,” says Michelle Ossmann, MSN, PhD, Director of Healthcare Environments at Steelcase Health.
Healthcare environments are often not designed to support the roles that family members play in a patient’s journey. Steelcase Health researchers identified five key issues that can affect family wellbeing and engagement in a patient room:
- Family members can be unintentionally blocked from critical communications.
- Difficult sleeping conditions.
- No place to share a meal.
- Uncomfortable hospitality environment
- Nowhere to plug in
The company’s findings show that family members need intuitive, welcoming and hosted environments that both support fundamental needs, such as sleeping, sharing meals and working, and assists them in productively partnering with clinicians to meet their loved one’s healthcare needs.
The findings from Steelcase Health bolster research on current healthcare trends such as patient and provider satisfaction as quality indicators, the focus on patient-and-family-centered-care, and the adoption of patient and family advisory boards and councils at hospitals and health systems.
For more information on the unmet needs of patient families, click here.
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Apr 7, 2016
Redevelopment plan announced for Chicago’s historic Cook County Hospital
The century-old, Beaux Arts architecture-inspired hospital will transform into a mixed-use development.
Industry Research | Apr 7, 2016
CBRE provides latest insight into healthcare real estate investors’ strategies
Survey respondents are targeting smaller acquisitions, at a time when market cap rates are narrowing for different product types.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 11, 2016
Report: Hospitals’ fossil fuel use trending downward, but electricity consumption hardly declining
A new survey from engineering firm Grumman/Butkus Associates examines electricity, fossil fuel, water/sewer, and carbon footprint of healthcare facilities.
Office Buildings | Mar 9, 2016
CBRE: Workplace wellness on the rise
As insurance premiums and deductibles continue to rise, both employees and employers are evaluating options to improve their wellbeing, writes CBRE Healthcare Managing Director Craig Beam.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 7, 2016
Can 'active' building designs make people healthier?
The new high-performance Kaiser Permanente facility in Anne Arundel County, Md., uses the built environment to improve the overall health of its occupants, writes GS&P's Terrance Perdue.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 4, 2016
Building a home where Alzheimer’s patients can thrive
Skanska recently completed Abe’s Garden in Nashville, Tenn., a memory care community designed to improve the lives of those affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Skanska's Senior Project Manager Jeff Elpers has more on the facility.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 1, 2016
Christ Hospital in Cincinnati brings its joint and spine care services under one roof
The opening coincides with agreements that make this center a preferred provider for several employers with self-funded healthcare plans.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 24, 2016
Healthcare providers must retool operations in post-ACA world
As healthcare organizations make the transition from sick care to well care, they’re learning how to stretch their resources and make smarter decisions about real estate.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 19, 2016
U.S. House moves to give Army Corps of Engineers management of V.A. projects
Bill would also put restrictions on planning and design funding.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 19, 2016
Early trends in healthcare for 2016
Fighting cancer, Design-Led Construction (DLC), and health sciences education are among the new efforts and developments, writes Cannon Design's Deb Sheehan.