The hospital room is the hub of care and recovery. It’s a place where patients receive their treatments, get checked on by doctors and nurses and are able to rest comfortably. It’s also where they’ll spend the majority of their time during a stay that can last up to five days.

As such, hospital rooms need to meet a number of specific patient and staff needs that include ensuring clear lines of sight with the nurses’ station for monitoring and support, reducing noise to promote sleep and comfort, and supporting mobile equipment to allow care teams to move quickly from room to room. Innovative design strategies are transforming the hospital room to create better experiences for both patients and staff.

Keeping the Room Clutter-Free

Many hospital rooms are cramped and can feel cluttered with supplies, medical equipment and personal belongings. This can be especially challenging when a patient is under airborne precautions for illnesses such as flu, pneumonia or tuberculosis, in which case germs spread via tiny droplets that stay suspended in the air for extended periods of time after coughing or sneezing. To limit re-contamination, patients need to keep their door closed and clean their hands frequently. In addition, they’ll need to avoid the public areas of the hospital if they are sick.

One solution is to incorporate a “staff zone” within the hospital room that separates the patient’s space from the caregiver’s space. The zone can be curtained off to preserve privacy while still allowing staff to easily access tools and equipment. It can also house storage for the treatment plan, a digital whiteboard that displays staff members’ names and roles, and a handwashing station to reduce contamination.

Another strategy is to include sliding and flexible opening swing doors that offer visual connection between the two zones without sacrificing acoustic privacy. These doors feature frosted glazing and switchable privacy glass to balance both concerns, while acoustically isolating the patient room from the hallway.

Keeping the Room Connected to Staff for a More Efficient Workflow

Efficient hospital room design is crucial to ensure that staff can access the tools and resources they need for efficient clinical workflows. To achieve this, designers are incorporating a range of innovative features into hospital rooms including:

Providing Dedicated Storage for Supplies

Small supply drawers built into the corridor wall can provide on-demand access to essential materials like medications and wound dressings. Ceiling-integrated equipment like patient lifts can free up floor space for other equipment. And embedded charging stations inside furniture or on walls and countertops can offer nurses and other care team members more places to keep their devices charged.

For a more relaxing experience, hospitals are integrating media into the hospital room to help distract patients and their families. Health education and basic TV channels are common, but some hospitals are offering patients a continuous ambient relaxation environment that combines peaceful video scenes of nature with soothing music. The calming content is designed to be effective for patients of all ages, genders and cultures, and it can help support circadian rhythms, improve sleep quality, enhance mood and facilitate healing.