IIDA Perspective - Summer 2018 - 14

TALK, TALK |

2 Designers On 1 Topic

Rethinking HOSPITAL WAITING ROOMS
By | Kate Rockwood
means putting patients and families first.

L

PERSPECTIVE: What makes you cringe about hospital
waiting rooms?
AMY MEES: Traditionally, waiting rooms are set up like bus

stations. It's chair after chair, positioned next to each other.
Human nature tells you if you don't know a person, you don't
sit next to them, so you have empty seats in between them
and that's inefficient.
Facilities are in need of embracing new ways of thinking
about the patient experience. It's not the same old, same old
anymore, and healthcare systems are faced with competition
as to where individuals are seeking their healthcare and why.
A big reason to choose one location over the other is the
environment and experience of a visit. This is especially true
with younger generations.
ENA KENNY: In terms of seating, sometimes you'll see too
much of the same type, layouts that do not favor family or
caregiver seating, or furnishings that may unintentionally
stigmatize-such as when only one or two bariatric chairs
are available. There is often a lack of positive distraction and
outside views to help orient and ground you.

KENNY: Designers need to think about locating

waiting areas where there is access to natural light and
views, finding a dedicated space with good internal
circulation and good flow to adjacent corridors. One
approach would be to incorporate furnishings and
layouts that offer choice and flexibility-where you
can sit alone with a coffee, sit with your four family
members, or sit in a more intimate configuration, such as
side by side or facing each other.
Amy Mees,
IIDA, LEED AP

"

I think that
there will
always
be some
semblance
of a
waiting
area, but
what will
change
will be the
amenities
and the
furnishings.

"

Long an afterthought, hospital waiting rooms are
transforming from grim, bland holding areas to
spaces designed with the needs-and stress-of
grieving or anxious patients and families in mind.
Amy Mees, IIDA, LEED AP, senior associate,
GBBN Architects Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, and
Ena Kenny, ARIDO, IDC, NCIDQ, senior interior
designer and associate, Stantec, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, each have taken this fresh approach to recent
waiting room designs. They weigh in on the progress made
and what's ahead.

-Amy Mees,
IIDA, LEED AP

PERSPECTIVE: What changes can have a big impact?
MEES: We always create ways to bring the outside in when

designing our buildings and the spaces within. That
translates to providing views to the outside in places
like waiting rooms and staff spaces and circulation
zones. And we do this with materials, too. Wood,
stone, or other natural materials, for example,
create a connection to nature.
Spaces that require the utmost privacy, like
exam rooms, are often placed along exterior walls.
This creates issues inside and outside the exam room.
Window coverings are used to provide privacy while
valuable views and shared natural light are being consumed
by those private spaces. It's a real missed opportunity.

14

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PERSPECTIVE: What can we expect in the future in
waiting rooms?
MEES: With advancements in technology, there might be a

day where waiting areas are reduced in size. Currently, patients
can register from the comfort of their home, and there are apps
where the facility can be notified once the patient is on premises
so the patient doesn't have to check in. Some facilities have
adopted the model of self-rooming-where the patient checks in
at a reception area and then is told which exam room they're to
be placed. There are dedicated patient corridors that lead to the
exam rooms. The exam room has another door on the opposite
side of the room where the provider enters from the work
area. But there are too many potential pitfalls with this model,
including an inefficient floorplan, and you lose a personal touch. I
think that there will always be some semblance of a waiting area,
but what will change will be the amenities and the furnishings.
KENNY: In the future, we will likely find everyone in waiting
spaces immersed even more in technology than we already are
today. I think we can anticipate more sophisticated means of
positive distraction. We have recently installed interactive
LED light surfaces in a kids' waiting area, and I have seen
some fantastic interactive art installations in hospital waiting
areas and corridors.
PERSPECTIVE: Are there some countries that do
waiting room design better than others?
KENNY: In the U.S., there is a strong hospitality feel to

Ena Kenny,
ARIDO, IDC, NCIDQ

healthcare spaces. In the Middle East, we are seeing
a similar hospitality feel, but ultramodern with nods
to local culture. In Europe, you will see much bolder
colors and an emphasis on the incorporation of
public art.
MEES: I truly feel that this is a generational and
societal push for change that permeates across
countries. Sometimes we have a need for solitude, other
times we desire more a more social setting. We're all human and
have similar wants and needs.
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