As the coronavirus mutates in tandem with the slow vaccine rollout, those in the healthcare community are becoming resigned to the possibility that this disease may be with us for a very long time. As with other illnesses we get inoculations for, COVID could become the new flu or measles endemic we learn to live with. Living with this involves lifestyle changes and on the healthcare design front, changes to the healthcare environment.
Cracking the Code on Healthcare Design Flexibility
For hospitals, who have fought the multiple waves of this pandemic, cracking the code to keep patients on the road to recovery and guests protected is of paramount importance going forward. From the air we breathe in the hospital through the most innovative air filtration systems, the ultraviolet lights and lamps used to disinfect, and increased bleach cleaning, hospital environmental staffs are doing their part. These practices are the new normal for healthcare environments.
Long Term Surfaces in Healthcare esign
Smaller waiting zones are the new normal as hospitals and doctor’s offices consider the way forward for patients and staff members. In these smaller zones, as with the large waiting areas pre-pandemic, it is important the high touch healthcare furniture here, the tables and seating, stands up to quick and intense cleaning. In all healthcare settings, furnishings for the future feature uncompromised furniture surfaces. Non-porous, bleach cleanable surfaces, combined with clean countertops and floors that can be kept clean long-term assure everyone will feel welcomed and secure in hospitals and doctors’ offices.
Informed, Focused, and Flexible Healthcare Design
Social distancing is a term that surfaced during the recent pandemic but think about it, is social distancing something that could have been protecting more during the cold and flu season? According to epidemiologists, social distancing, combined with more people getting vaccinated, is having a positive effect on the flu, as cases in 2020 were down from previous years. When you know better you do better, and flexible healthcare design is following through by separating small group seating areas and placing barriers between seats and on seat backs.