From medical centers and doctor’s offices to hospitals and clinics, flooring plays an important role in safety, healing, wellbeing, and overall patient experience. Choosing the right flooring is important.
Must-Haves
Each healthcare facility will have unique needs and requirements but there are a few criteria that are universal to the healthcare world. First, the material must be durable, easy to maintain and support patient mobility. This includes ambulator patients and roller mobility.
Comfort and Security
Whether on foot, or with the assistance of a wheelchair or walking aid, supporting patient mobility (and occasional falls) is a top priority. Flooring should offer ease of movement and enhanced noise control.
But we also need to consider the comfort and security of the staff and patients. For example, high gloss floors cause eye fatigue in employees and elderly patients. You want a floor that looks clean, without glaring or making people feel like they will slip.
Likewise, noise can be an issue. A healing environment should be comfortable and quiet but that is hard to achieve in a hospital. With the help of certain flooring types, noise levels can be kept at bay offering patients a more comfortable experience.
Cleanliness
Clean-and sometimes sterile- environments are crucial in healthcare and the floors must be able to withstand the required maintenance policies and guidelines. A floor’s maintenance products need to be considered.
The process of stripping, waxing and buffing flooring is costly and disrupts healthcare. Therefore, it is better to choose a “no wax” flooring finish, eliminating this need and the disposal of caustic stripping chemicals, which reduces environment impact.
Seemless Flooring Installation
Most of the cleaning and sterilization measures in healthcare facilities are to address infection control. In flooring, this is best addressed with seamless product installations.
Since bacteria can hide and grow behind transition strips (which are also slip and fall hazards) we recommend flooring options that are welded to each other, creating a seamless transition.
For areas like laboratories, procedure rooms, and operating rooms, there are homogeneous sheet flooring options that are heat-welded and flash-coved for spaces that demand superior infection control.
Design Options
LVT is a good option for healthcare since they are easy to clean, low maintenance and spill proof. It is also durable and available in a wide variety of colors and patterns.
However, there is no one-size-fits-all flooring options when it comes to healthcare. While it offers many great aspects, LVT isn’t right for every situation. Today, designers mix styles and products to meet a healthcare facility’s personal needs, while creating a visually appealing space for patients.
Evidence-Based Design
Evidence-based design is essentially understanding how design decisions in the healthcare facility impacts the health outcomes of patients. Soothing colors, good lighting, and nice finishes give the space a homey feeling.
Many healthcare facilities focus on this when choosing flooring options. With these considerations, we can create a wide variety of designs that promote a warm, nurturing, and homelike environment. The designs offer coordinating colors and patterns and can even facilitate wayfinding.
Keeping Spirits Bright
Some healthcare facilities choose bright colors to cheer up patients. Patients with long-term care or ongoing hospital treatments, especially children, enjoy brighter colors. These colors can be used with medium tones to create interesting floor layouts. It can be used to create pathways for children to follow to treatment areas, interesting shapes, or designated play areas for breaks. Furthermore, bright colors can be used for patients with poor eyesight or just to give patients a break from other calming spaces.
Healthcare and Hospital Commercial Flooring Company
Profast Commercial Flooring, LLC has been in business since 1998. It has a dedicated, knowledgeable and professional staff both in the office and field to provide the best-installed product in the commercial flooring business. Profast is a Five Star Contractor with National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA). Contact us today for a quote on your next healthcare or hospital project.
