Local Hospitals Create Home-like Environments
Posted by Alex Gault on March 28, 2006
In response to growing evidence that healing is linked to home-like environments, Bay Area medical centers are wooing patients with a host of new amenities.
Kaiser Permanente's $750 million medical center in Santa Clara is one of the more dramatic illustrations of this trend, with sheer glass walls, carpeted floors and a variety of creature comforts aimed at soothing patients.
"There are some studies that show that environments with lots of light are probably more conducive to healing," says Physician-in-chief Dr. Bernadette Loftus . "I think we are organizing our facility to recognize the new standards of Americans." Those new standards also include convenience and expediency, she says. Kaiser has responded by adding wireless "hot spots" in many areas of its campus that allow visitors to log on to the Internet, while patients can be admitted to the hospital through a bedside registration service.
