Medical Construction Tips: Last week’s post discussed Natural Biophilic Medical Construction. Today, find out how to design your medical space with natural elements to improve patient satisfaction, boost medical staff productivity, and cut down on medical costs. Listed are six ways to implement nature into your medical construction plans.

Medical Construction Tips

1- Plan a secret garden

You don’t need to plant a spacious rose garden to promote healing and give your patients a space to relax. If you run a small medical practice, then set up a large tree pot with flowers, or make a portable Zen garden. If you have more space, then plan a large sensory garden of flowers, hedges, smooth stones, and grassy areas.

2- Get into the flow

Natural hospital design emphasizes on free flowing spaces, both indoors and outdoors. Ask you medical contractor about hospital courtyards, arbors, and transparent fencing that encourage patients to step outside and breathe. Research shows that patients who spend more time outdoors heal quicker and require less time recuperating in the hospital.

3- Follow the pattern

Design elements that mimic nature are more conducive to healing, and significantly cut down on the amount of trauma that patients experience upon entering a long-term hospital environment. Pay attention to colors, patterns, scales, textures and other details that create a feeling of liveliness and nature in your hospital rooms.

4- Go green

Try to use green products when choosing elements for your hospital construction; these include natural wooden floorings, recycled/recyclable materials, non-toxic finishes, and building materials that don’t emit volatile organic compounds.

5- Let the light in

Artificial fluorescent lighting causes stress and dizziness; to aid in the healing process, reduce stress, and save money on electricity, install large windows and sunroof elements that maximize on natural sunlight.

6- Just add water

Flowing water calms the mind and promotes restorative healing, while also shushing unwanted sounds from the city streets. Ask your medical construction expert to install a small fountain in your outside patient area, or construct channels that let rain water flow naturally into a stream.  

Also read:

Building Healthcare Facility Design Layouts that Patients Love Green Medical Practice Tips that save Money: Lighting Sources: An inventory of biophilic design attributes within child life play spaces Reconnecting with Nature Through Biophilic Design Use biophilic design to promote healing at Ohio State medical center Image courtesy of kai4107/freeedigitalphotos