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
Sponsored | | Sep 23, 2013
HKS leverages Revu and Bluebeam Studio for IPD on the Banner Health MD Anderson Health Center project
Read how HKS is working collaboratively with all project partners and streamlining information flow using Bluebeam Revu and Bluebeam Studio to digitize communication and deliver the facility using IPD.
| Sep 19, 2013
What we can learn from the world’s greenest buildings
Renowned green building author, Jerry Yudelson, offers five valuable lessons for designers, contractors, and building owners, based on a study of 55 high-performance projects from around the world.
| Sep 19, 2013
6 emerging energy-management glazing technologies
Phase-change materials, electrochromic glass, and building-integrated PVs are among the breakthrough glazing technologies that are taking energy performance to a new level.
| Sep 19, 2013
Roof renovation tips: Making the choice between overlayment and tear-off
When embarking upon a roofing renovation project, one of the first decisions for the Building Team is whether to tear off and replace the existing roof or to overlay the new roof right on top of the old one. Roofing experts offer guidance on making this assessment.
| Sep 17, 2013
Healthcare project will merge outpatient clinic with YMCA to promote wellness and prevention
Penrose-St. Francis Health Services and the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region announce collaboration, along with developer The Boldt Company, to create next-generation wellness facility.
| Sep 16, 2013
Study analyzes effectiveness of reflective ceilings
Engineers at Brinjac quantify the illuminance and energy consumption levels achieved by increasing the ceiling’s light reflectance.
| Sep 11, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 3 coverage
Day 3 coverage of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo, taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Sep 10, 2013
The new medical office building: 7 things to know about today’s outpatient clinic
Regulatory pressures, economic constraints, and emerging technologies are transforming healthcare. Learn how Building Teams are responding with efficient, appealing, boundary-blurring outpatient buildings.
| Sep 10, 2013
BUILDINGChicago eShow Daily – Day 2 coverage
The BD+C editorial team brings you this real-time coverage of day 2 of the BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo taking place this week at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
| Sep 4, 2013
Augmented reality goes mainstream: 12 applications for design and construction firms
Thanks to inexpensive mobile devices and increasingly advanced software apps, Building Teams are finally able to bring their BIM models to life on the job site.