flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
Currently Reading

Respite for the weary healthcare worker

Healthcare Facilities

Respite for the weary healthcare worker

The pandemic has shined a light on the severe occupational stress facing healthcare workers. Creating restorative hospital environments can ease their feelings of anxiety and burnout while improving their ability to care for patients.


By HOK | HOK | February 10, 2022
NYP integrative health and wellness
Images courtesy HOK

A 2021 University of Utah Health study reported that more than half of all doctors, nurses and emergency responders treating COVID-19 patients were vulnerable to mental health issues ranging from depression and insomnia to anxiety and substance abuse. The risk was comparable to rates observed in healthcare workers following natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

NYP Integrative Health and Wellness

Designers can help health systems and healthcare organizations take a holistic approach to designing restorative spaces for their people. The best approach is to think about every aspect of a hospital building as an opportunity to boost staff health and wellness.

Frontline healthcare workers will, by nature, always will put patient welfare in front of their own. During the height of the pandemic, though, they had even less time than ever to take care of themselves. But even a few simple wellness-infused design strategies can give frazzled, time-crunched healthcare workers a few moments of respite.

Natural Connections

By now we’re all well-versed in the healing power of nature for patients. We need to remember that biophilic design elements also can offer mental health benefits for staff. Experiencing plants, water, breezes, natural patterns and nature-based images—even for short periods of time—can help healthcare workers relax and refocus. In addition to patient rooms, biophilic elements can be incorporated into high-traffic areas like hallways and nurses’ stations.

Teng Fong Hospital

We all have an innate desire to experience direct connections with nature. Providing outdoor spaces where staff can soak up some sun, breathe in the fresh air and just “be” brings well-documented wellness benefits.

Shining Light

Light affects people’s circadian rhythms, which impacts our sleep patterns and immune systems. Even in the best circumstances, most healthcare workers don’t get the amount and type of light required to fully stimulate their circadian rhythms.

New York Presbyterian

Though it’s standard for patient rooms to include lighting controls and access to outdoor views and daylight, that’s not always the case for staff spaces. Lighting systems can support circadian rhythms by changing color temperature over the course of the day.

Kaiser permanente Baldwin HIlls

For weary staff, experiencing a burst of light can have the same effect as drinking a cup of coffee. Providing access to dimmable lighting is an especially vital part of maintaining the well-being of healthcare workers who regularly arrive at the hospital before sunrise, leave after sunset or work the night shift.

Respite Rooms

Respite rooms—dedicated spaces for healthcare workers to recharge—can be part of the solutions.

These spaces should be strategically located for easy access and engage people’s senses. Peaceful graphics and lush plants, calming scents and music, comfortable furniture and access to healthy food and drinks all can provide relief.

NYP Integrative Health and Wellness

Providing additional quiet spaces for support services like counseling or pastoral care also is important.

Respite and quiet spaces should be acoustically separated from the work environment, giving people a break from the background noises and an opportunity to disconnect from their work.

Eskenazi

Supportive Policies and Culture

Respite rooms and outdoor patios are only valuable if institutions encourage their people to use them. While thoughtful design of the built environment can ease some of the mental health issues facing clinicians, it is only one aspect of an organization’s efforts to create a supportive, empathetic culture.

More from Author

HOK | Feb 23, 2023

Using data to design the sports venue of the future

Former video game developer Abe Stein and HOK's Bill Johnson discuss how to use data to design stadiums and arenas that keep fans engaged and eager to return.

HOK | Jan 23, 2023

How regenerative design is driving AEC industry innovation

HOK's Sean Quinn and Microsoft's JoAnn Garbin discuss the next step of sustainability: regenerative design.

HOK | Nov 23, 2022

7 ways the Inflation Reduction Act will impact the building sector

HOK’s Anica Landreneau and Stephanie Miller and Smart Surfaces Coalition’s Greg Kats reveal multiple ways the IRA will benefit the built environment. 

HOK | Jul 19, 2022

All is not lost: 3 ways architects can respond to the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants dealt a significant blow to our ability to fight the climate crisis with federal policy.

HOK | Jul 8, 2022

Stanford Center for academic medicine honored for excellence in structural engineering

The Stanford School of Medicine Center for Academic Medicine was an Outstanding Project Winner in the 2021 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards presented by the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA).

HOK | Jul 7, 2022

Love at first flight: The power of first impressions in airports

As architects, how we design a terminal and choreograph the passenger experience can stir up strong feelings.

HOK | Aug 25, 2021

Lab design strategies for renovations and adaptive reuse

Lab design experts in HOK’s Science + Technology group outline the challenges organizations must understand before renovating a lab or converting an existing building into research space.

HOK | Jun 17, 2020

HOK and Germfree partner to design mobile COVID-19 testing lab

Access to quick, reliable, and repeated testing has been one of the greatest challenges for businesses, institutions and individuals during the COVID-19 crisis.

HOK | Jan 15, 2020

Top 4 healthcare design trends that will shape medical planning in the 2020s

For patients and healthcare staff, these developments will be most evident in new tools, such as robotic surgical tables and intra-hospital delivery drones, that improve healthcare services and outcomes.

HOK | Sep 10, 2018

Virtual reality as a design tool: What we've learned and where we're going

Given the dizzying speed in which the technology has caught on, it’s worth taking a moment to look at what we’ve learned to date about VR and discuss how it fits into the future of architecture and design.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category




halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021

 



Magazine Subscription
Subscribe

Get our Newsletters

Each day, our editors assemble the latest breaking industry news, hottest trends, and most relevant research, delivered to your inbox.

Subscribe

Follow BD+C: