Hospitals are noisier than ever. Worldwide, sound levels inside hospitals average 72 decibels during the day and 60 decibels at night, which far exceeds the standard of 40 decibels or less, set by the World Health Organization.
Studies find that the clamor of modern medicine can harm both patients and staff. Unwanted sound wrecks sleep, raises stress levels, induces medical mistakes, and contributes to alarm fatigue, which occurs when monitors shriek so often they are ignored or turned off, causing safety issues.
In response, hospitals throughout Illinois and the U.S. are launching "quiet campaigns" that include eliminating intercom paging, replacing metal trash cans, installing sound-absorbing flooring and paneling, and dimming lights at night to remind staff to keep their voices down.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 26, 2017
A Georgia Tech white paper examines the pros and cons of different delivery systems for ICUs
It concludes that a ceiling-mounted beam system is best suited to provide critical care settings with easier access to patients, gases, and equipment.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 24, 2017
The transformation of outpatient healthcare design
Higher costs and low occupancy rates have forced healthcare facilities to rethink how healthcare is delivered in their community.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 7, 2017
Microhospitals: Healthcare's newest patient access point
Microhospitals are acute care facilities that are smaller than the typical acute care hospital. They leave complex surgeries to the big guys, but are larger and provide more comprehensive services than the typical urgent care or outpatient center.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 6, 2017
NYC cancer hospital rises to the occasion
A recent analysis of patient volumes showed that Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center would run out of space for new construction at its Upper East Side campus in Manhattan in just a few years.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 3, 2017
Urgent care centers: True pioneers of retail healthcare delivery
Hospitals, either individually or in joint ventures, run 37% of U.S. urgent care centers.
Healthcare Facilities | Jan 19, 2017
A survey challenges the efficacy of decentralized nurses station design
The Institute of Health + Wellness Design at the University of Kansas raised questions after reviewing a hospital’s renovated orthopedic unit.
Healthcare Facilities | Dec 22, 2016
Has ‘green’ delivered on its promise to the healthcare sector?
As we approach the end of the second decade of LEED, the financial costs and benefits of going green are well documented, write CBRE's Lee Williams and Steve Higgs.
Healthcare Facilities | Dec 13, 2016
How healthcare systems can reduce financial risk with developer-owned hospitals
When entering a new market, the financial risk can be magnified to the point that the investment – although critical to a system’s future – becomes unpalatable to a governing board.
Sponsored | Flooring | Dec 7, 2016
Reading Hospital expansion project saves two months in construction schedule thanks to nora nTx
Construction delays are common with projects as large as the $354 million Reading Hospital expansion. Maybe that’s why construction manager Jeff Hutwelker, project executive with LF Driscoll Co., LLC, was so pleased with his nora® experience. By Hutwelker’s estimates, nora nTx saved approximately two months in his construction schedule.
Healthcare Facilities | Nov 30, 2016
Utilizing real estate to build physician networks
How hospitals can partner with their doctors to build an ambulatory network.
