While important to many types of projects, flexible design sees added emphasis in healthcare settings. When healthcare facilities can incorporate new technologies and respond to changes in patient care practices, they reduce the demand to build additional facilities, which supports greener construction practices and of course lower building costs.
But why else is healthcare flexibility important? When healthcare settings can easily incorporate new technologies or shift depending on patient need, they are better poised to provide long-term care to the communities they serve. Flexible healthcare design can also improve patient experience both directly and indirectly. By helping medical centers more seamlessly integrate the latest technology, it ensures patients can receive the best care possible. It also increases the efficiency with which providers can treat patients, potentially shortening wait times.
So what is healthcare flexibility exactly and how does architecture play a role in a facility’s capacity to be flexible?
What is healthcare flexibility?
Overall, healthcare flexibility allows providers to adapt with changing needs, whether those are widespread or individualized. Medical centers designed with flexibility in mind can more readily incorporate new technologies and respond to patient surges.
While medical staff plays a role in creating flexibility, the building itself often sets the limits on how flexible a healthcare center can be. In terms of architecture, specifying the right type of door is one way of increasing a facility’s flexibility. Selecting options that can satisfy multiple opening width requirements without sacrificing useable space can help make a healthcare setting more efficient and more flexible.
Commercial sliding doors contribute to flexible healthcare design
Commercial sliding doors allow wider openings without larger swing arc trajectories. This can help increase which equipment can be moved into or out of a room, allowing larger medical devices to change positions depending on need. In addition, larger openings can help facilitate the easy movement of patient beds, helping healthcare centers create ad hoc inpatient rooms during emergencies.
Further, larger openings could even allow some medical procedures to take place in patient or exam rooms. This could improve both the efficiency of care but also its accessibility. In addition, patients with cognitive or physical impairments may find it difficult to move from location to location, so easing this burden could improve the quality and effectiveness of the care they receive.
Sliding doors can also incorporate perimeter seals that meet UL testing standards for pressurized environments, further supporting flexible healthcare design. This is particularly important during patient surges and when indoor air quality (IAQ) is of chief concern.
Flexible healthcare design and code compliance
While commercial sliding doors can help healthcare facilities be more flexible, there are some places where their use is limited by building code requirements. In these instances, designers can still achieve a flexible healthcare design by specifying swing doors with two unequal leaves.
These doors open to code-driven minimum widths for day-to-day operation. However, should the need arise, their auxiliary leaf can be engaged to increase the opening size, allowing the easy movement of patients, equipment and more. This can reduce room-use constraints while saving space that would otherwise be sacrificed with a fixed-width door’s swing arc.
There are many paths to achieving flexible design goals. However, door openings can be a deciding factor in a building’s potential for flexibility. Commercial sliding doors and swing doors with unequal leaves can contribute to flexible healthcare design while also providing benefits for patients and providers alike.
