Patient Centered Care
In recent years, there has been a growing trend devoted to designing the health care facility from the patients' perspective—and there is growing evidence that it works. From both a business and a medical point of view, patient-centered care offers numerous benefits.
Attract Patients
Today's patients play a greater role in managing their own health care. They are much more informed and willing to " shop" for providers who respect their input, values and personal needs. Research has shown that patients who are active participants in their own health care enjoy better outcomes than those who aren't.
In a competitive environment, it is essential to demonstrate willingness to respond to patient needs. Health care facilities that clearly integrate the latest building materials and techniques to promote a more comfortable, healthy environment are more attractive to patients who desire a stay with greater comfort and the best possibility of a successful outcome.
Enhance Satisfaction
With expertise in building science, Johns Manville can help your project team create a facility that focuses on patient needs. We can improve the patient experience with:
Quieter, more private facilities.
Hospital noise has been shown to be a key factor affecting a patient's perception of quality of care, and can even affect medical outcomes.1 In addition, high noise levels often force staff and patients to speak more loudly about potentially sensitive health information. Johns Manville can help you create a comprehensive acoustic solution with products that reduce noise created and transmitted by air handling and piping systems, and improve through-wall and surface-reflected acoustics.
Comfortable temperatures.
When designing a new health care facility, you have an opportunity to ensure that patients will experience a more comfortable stay by using advanced insulation technologies from Johns Manville. Proper insulation of the building envelope helps to avoid uneven temperatures in patient rooms. Installing Johns Manville thermal insulation in or on exterior walls will reduce cold spots during the winter. Properly insulating metal ducting and pipes also ensures that air and water are delivered at the desired temperature.Improve Wellness
Several factors that can affect a patient's wellness and successful medical outcome can be enhanced by the use of proper building materials throughout a facility. These materials can:
Control moisture to prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms.
Patient safety can be greatly compromised by the growth of mold in the health care setting. Mold spores are always present in both indoor and outdoor air, and can flourish with an organic material to feed on and a relative humidity above 70 percent. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends using insulation to cover cold building surfaces such as walls, cold-water pipes, and ceilings to prevent the buildup of condensation that can fuel mold growth. Johns Manville can help your team follow those guidelines with cost-effective insulation and building envelope solutions.
Promote healthier indoor air quality.
Providing clean, filtered air and effectively controlling indoor air pollution through ventilation are two key aspects of maintaining good air quality. Limiting the use of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is an important step in reducing indoor air pollution. Johns Manville Formaldehyde-free™ fiber glass insulations are ideal alternatives to formaldehyde-bonded fiber glass insulation.
Reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections.
Research shows that the design of the physical environment has a significant impact on hospital-acquired infection rates.2 Many incidents and outbreaks of nosocomial infection have been linked to malfunctions and contamination of the ventilation system. Johns Manville recommends that a hospital-grade duct liner should fully encapsulate the airstream surface, be water-resistant, and be treated with an EPA-registered antimicrobial agent to make the airstream surface resistant to the growth of fungus and mold.2 Cummings, K.M., Hahn, T., Lipman, B., McCarthy, Jr., P., Michalek, A., & Segal, B. (2002). "Efficacy of High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filtration in Preventing Aspergillosis in Immunocompromised Patients with Hematologic Malignancies." Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 23.9, pp. 525-531.
