Environmental noise, soothing music, therapy animals, art and light are all factors that can positively impact a patient healing journey. It makes sense that more healthcare facilities are considering patient environments when they work toward positive healing outcomes.

Both safety and aesthetics of patient rooms and hospital spaces are being considered in modern healthcare design – and that includes flooring.

Anti-slip Protection

For healthcare facilities, safety considerations are always a top priority.

Anti-slip textures can be added to advanced floor shields, coatings and sealers to prevent slips, trips and falls in high traffic areas, as well as restrooms and showers. Floors with durable, sustainable coatings are also easier to maintain and more sanitary than surfaces requiring mechanical waxing and buffing.

Anti-odor Protection

While the spread of infection is a top issue when it comes to contaminants in your grout, another, albeit less critical concern, is foul odors.

Using a floor coating or shield eliminates the tiny spaces where contaminants and bacteria can embed themselves in flooring materials, which can lead to foul odors.

Designing a Healing Look and Feel

Sanitation and safety aren’t the only factors driving healthcare flooring solutions. An article in Floor Trends Magazine reports that many healthcare facilities have moved away from visually sterile patient rooms and are designing healing spaces that are bright, homey and visually stimulating.

“For those patients with long-term care or ongoing hospital treatments, bright colors and how they are used can often lift their spirits, especially for children,” said Robert Langstaff, director of design, Metroflor Corporation. – “Choosing Flooring for Healthcare Environments,” Floor Trends Magazine, 2016.

For hospitals or medical centers operating under tight budget constraints, many flooring solutions can be used to help redesign a room or add flair through the use of coloring or accent products and procedures.

Whether it’s recoloring restroom tiles or adding reflective chips to sustainable sealants, there are many ways modern flooring solutions for healthcare facilities can be aesthetically pleasing as well as safe and sanitary. These types of solutions offer many advantages. They typically are much less costly than rip-out and replacement, they avoid endangering patients with airborne particulates and they can be completed in a short time frame.

This is an excerpt from our full report, available here.