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Insights & Solutions

Get the latest trends, tools, and resources for improving healthcare environments here. Browse our many free and members-only resources, including research reports and issue briefs, interviews, case studies, design strategies, lessons learned, key point summaries, and webinars.

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Tool

Ideas to Reduce Noise
September 2015 ∘ Tool

This tool provides healthcare designers and professionals with ideas on how to address the issue of noise in facility design.
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Project Brief

Acoustical Wall Treatment Helps Improve HCAHPS Scores for Patient Satisfaction in ED Pilot
August 2015 ∘ Project Brief

Learn about: how one hospital’s emergency room pilot project increased patient satisfaction, the standards developed post-pilot to decrease noise transfer to other areas of the hospital, and why having design changes on paper may not be enough.
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Project Brief

Multi-Phase Approach Achieves Culture of Quiet
October 2014 ∘ Project Brief

Learn about: how St. Mary's Hospital targeted noise reduction goals for their cardiac care unit, about onsite sound measurements that informed material selection, and about design changes that resulted in reduced noise from the highest sources of sound.
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Project Brief

The Effects of Material Selection on Noise Levels in Two Patient Care Units
October 2014 ∘ Project Brief

Learn about: the impact of noise on both patient and staff outcomes, about the methods the research team used to evaluate noise levels, and the difference between patient and staff perceptions of noise sources.
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Project Brief

Keeping It Quiet
October 2015 ∘ Project Brief

Learn about: how Florida Waterman built patient rooms to reduce noise, how patient satisfaction scores improved as a result of room design changes, and how the team studied the impact of the new design strategy.
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Interview

Noise: Going Beyond a “One-Size-Fits-All” Solution, an interview with Susan E. Mazer, PhD
October 2014 ∘ Interview

Learn about: the ways sound can support a healing environment, creating a culture of appropriate noise levels within a busy healthcare setting and engaging staff  in building a healing environment in their own units, for patients and for themselves.
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Interview

Treating Noise at the Source, an interview with Ken Roy, PhD
October 2014 ∘ Interview

Learn about: the key noise issues facing the industry today, design strategies that can be implemented to mitigate noise, the problems with spaces that are too quiet.
Blog

Don't Forget The Walls!
November 2014 ∘ Blog

In the ongoing battle to reduce noise in hospital patient units, much attention has been paid to the floor and the ceiling. Over the years, several case studies have shown that sound-absorbing ceiling tile and carpet can help significantly reduce excess noise on a unit. But what about the walls?
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Interview

Noise: Hospitals Need a Unique Approach, an interview with Erica Ryherd, PhD, LEED, AP
October 2014 ∘ Interview

Learn about: why hospitals starting to care more about noise issues, new metrics for noise measurements and why measuring noise in unoccupied rooms is important and holistic approaches to sound reduction.
Blog

Creating a Culture of Quiet
October 2014 ∘ Blog

The issue of excessive noise in healthcare facilities is indeed complicated. Patients need a calm, peaceful environment in which to heal, and loud noises certainly are at odds with that concept. While architectural and design choices can be made to lower the general noise level -- high-performance sound-absorbing materials in floors, ceilings, and walls are examples -- perhaps the most important and effective step a healthcare organization can take is to create a “culture of quiet” among its staff on all levels.