Private, Quiet Spaces Are a Focus of New Tower Design

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center’s new patient tower will be a tranquil space for patients, family and hospital team members.

When it comes to a hospital stay, patients and their families want private, quiet spaces to rest and recover. Decades ago, hospital design meant double-occupancy rooms, few doors and little escape from noise.

When Shady Grove Medical Center’s tower opens, it will include only private, single-occupancy rooms. At the same time, all current double-occupancy rooms in the hospital’s original building will become single-occupancy rooms.

“This approach to privacy isn’t limited to standard inpatient rooms,” says Todd Cohen, Associate Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate at Adventist HealthCare. “We’re also adding doors to patient rooms in our new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Emergency Department (ED). This will offer patients and families more of a private feel while also reducing noise coming from hospital equipment, nursing stations, nearby rooms and busy corridors.”

The new ED patient rooms will have what are called “crash doors.” These doors can be opened from either direction. They’re also see-through so caregivers can keep watch and react quickly to patients in need.

ICU room doors — which often remain open since the unit itself is private — will be wooden, like traditional inpatient rooms. In-room technology will help monitor patients.

Single-occupancy rooms and doors aren’t the only updates that will help reduce noise in the new tower. The insulation used in wall construction will also tame down sounds from other rooms and common areas.

“Research shows that noise in hospitals can disrupt a person’s natural sleep patterns and lead to other health problems,” Todd says. “We’re doing all we can to create an environment that promotes healing and well-being.”