Healthcare Solutions with Family in Mind

Most healthcare solutions focus on providing patient care, but they also need to consider the well-being of family members and caregivers tending to their ill loved ones as they recover.

According to Steelcase, well-designed healthcare environments can be a powerful tool in supporting a family’s ability to meaningfully engage in their loved one’s care. With that in mind, they sought to better understand how families are involved in the healthcare experience and how they adapt to living in a patient room.

After extensive research, the team found that healthcare environments are often not designed to support the roles that family members play in a patient’s journey. In addition, they identified five key issues that can affect the family wellbeing in a patient room:

FAMILY MEMBERS BLOCKED FROM CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS

Family members often want to be active participants with clinicians and the patient, but the layout of most healthcare environments does not promote communication. Effective communication can help family members make a patient’s transition from hospital to home easier and prevent future emergency room visits and hospital readmission.

DIFFICULT SLEEPING CONDITIONS

Many healthcare environments cannot comfortably accommodate family members who stay with their loved ones overnight. They worry that they will disturb their loved one as they shift and try to get comfortable in the middle of the night.

NO PLACE TO SHARE A MEAL

Family members often prefer to eat with their loved ones rather than in the cafeteria, but current healthcare environments do not support families sharing a meal.

UNCOMFORTABLE HOSPITALITY ENVIRONMENT

In many hospital settings, limited furniture makes it more difficult to host visitors. Excess furniture can block access to medical equipment and impede clinical staff’s ability to do their job.

NOWHERE TO PLUG IN

Often family members try to maintain some of their routines, including working from the hospital, while supporting their loved one. Unfortunately, in most cases, power sources are scarce in the patient room, making it difficult for family members to stay connected.

Fortunately, there is a solution that solves all these issues. The Surround is a collection designed specifically with patient family members in mind. With the flexibility to be close to the patient bed and serve as a sleep surface or sofa to support eating and socialization. In addition, the solution hosts power sources for those who need to stay connected on mobile devices.

To learn more about this one-of-a-kind solution, contact our team at info@dancker.com.