Designing Plants for Hospitals & Healthcare Facilities
Healthcare facilities are given the unique responsibility of being a lighthouse for individuals from all walks of life. They see the local people go through some of the biggest changes in their lives & handle immense loads of stress. Their visitors are of every age group, background, language, and so forth. Healthcare facilities are there to keep the community in good health and make sure their services are accessible to all, and do all of this in an efficient manner. This is no small load to carry.
Designing a Healthcare Facility
When a healthcare facility is designed, they already have countless factors to take into consideration. Office layouts, wheelchair accessibility, handicap parking, elevators, labs, and more. The persons stepping into a healthcare facility are often undergoing some of the most stressful periods of their lives, good or bad. But healthcare spaces need to be accommodating not just to the visitors, but to the staff as well. Offices, storage, and laboratories need to be strategically placed to cater to the work that’s getting done.
But above all, what do they want? To make their patients feel comfortable, supported, and welcome. Hospitals and healthcare facilities in Philadelphia, such as Jefferson Health, use plants & natural accents to soften the atmosphere. Nature is comforting. Connecting with the earth is crucial to our well-being. And in big cities like Philly, residents don’t often get the chance to do that.
The Plants are There for Your Patients
It’s a well-known and accepted fact that attitude & outlook on life directly impacts our physical health. One study showed that people with a positive attitude recovered faster from physical illness. Adding plants to your facility creates a basis for this positive outlook. While they mean well, the tile floors, constant beeping, and sterilized-everything certainly doesn’t make a person feel at home. Take a lesson from spas and salons around the world: plants are therapeutic. If what you’re trying to do is help your patient relax and lower stress levels, adding foliage is the answer.
The Plants are There for Your Team
Adding a few plants here and there might seem insignificant. But you’ll certainly notice when they’re not there. It’s all too common for healthcare facilities to dedicate thousands to their landscaping, but forget to bring it indoors. Why do they invest in their outdoor plants more than indoor? To show those who have not yet visited that they’re operating a clean, healthy, and welcoming environment. But those who don’t bring that same level of attention inside are forgetting one key detail: your staff needs to feel good as well. A medical team that doesn’t feel safe, clean, and healthy is not going to operate at peak performance. Your team is going to be under immense amounts of stress no matter what. If you can provide just a little bit of reprieve and comfort in their workspace, who wouldn’t do so?
Practical Plant Design for Hospitals & Healthcare Facilities
The main problem for medical offices looking to integrate plants is maintenance. If you work in a healthcare facility, you’re busy. Now more than ever. What you don’t have time for is watering plants, repotting, pruning, and changing soil. That’s why it’s typically the most practical option to hire a plantscaping company. They’ll worry about the installation, maintenance, replacing plants, and more. Seeing a dying plant doesn’t make anybody feel better. So if you are integrating natural elements into your facility, maintaining them is a top priority.
This also means understanding exactly what plants are going to thrive in that environment. You might be working with a floor to ceiling south-facing windows, where you have the opportunity to house tropical plants that soak up sunlight. But likely much of your space experiences little to no sunlight, where your options are more limited. Designers also need to be mindful of in what rooms they’re putting plants. If they choose to put live plants in patient rooms, they’re going to need to knock and potentially cause some interruptions later on to care for the plants. Horticultural experts pay attention to all of these details when designing for healthcare facilities.
Plant Services for Healthcare in Pennsylvania
Since 1991, Hoffman Design Group continues to bring nature and creativity into the healthcare & medical spaces of Philadelphia, Suburban Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Delaware, and beyond. Don’t settle for plain white walls and yellowing plants. When you work with our team, you’re guaranteed an office of happy, healthy foliage. Call now for a free consultation!