Pascua, James I.

Abstract

Hospital is an institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or
injured people. In the country, some places doesn’t have enough medical facility to cater ordinary citizens
because of its growing population and not easily accessible in their area. Some hospitals needs proper
ventilation and circulation for the users. Hospitals serve as the locus of health care delivery in the
Philippines. 1With 1,800 hospitals and over 87,000 beds, most households go directly to hospitals for
treatment of illnesses. It is an integral part of social and medical organization that function to provide a
complete health care to the people. Based on the health profile from Department of Health, it shows that
the town lacks public hospital to cater their citizen that can’t afford to go to private hospitals. Health
facility like hospitals should be proportional to the growing population of the town to support the medical
and surgical treatment needed of the people. The town should be able to provide enough medical needs of
its residents.

Goals and objectives

A. To promote a healing design of hospital that can be helpful to make the patients recover faster.

b. To promote architectural solutions to improve the existing condition of hospitals nowadays.

c. To enhance the capability of the hospital to adapt and handle the users. d. To propose a design that will
ensure the safety and health of its environment.

e. To provide a healing environment for the users especially patients to make them appreciate nature
while they are inside the hospital.

Design concept “Healing Architecture”

Be one with nature. My structure composed of mostly wide transparent glass window for
the unobstructed views of the outdoors and comfortable levels of natural light all at the same
time, for the faster recovery of the patients.

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Healing Architecture
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Healthcare facilities are designed to enhance a hospital staff’s ability to provide high-quality
care and efficiency. Yet the power of the architecture itself to impact a patient’s recovery time
and the overall effectiveness of a facility tends to be overlooked.

The new term “healing architecture” indicates that the built environment has the ability to impact
patients’ health and psychological well-being. Features such as bright rooms, access to natural
daylight, big windows, local plant life and outdoor views can improve the healing process by
giving patients a psychological and physical lift.

What is healing architecture or healing environments?

Healing architecture for healthcare facilities describes a physical setting that supports patients
and families through the stresses that develop as a result of illness, hospitalization, medical
visits, the healing process or bereavement. The concept implies that the physical healthcare
environment can make a difference in how quickly patients recover or adapt to specific acute and
chronic conditions.

The goal of healing architecture

The goal of all healing environments is to engage patients in the process of self-healing and
recovery. As a result, these spaces are designed to be nurturing and therapeutic to reduce patient
and family stress. In order to promote recovery, healing architecture aims to:

 Eliminate environmental stressors, such as noise, lack of privacy, poor air quality and
glare.
 Connect patients to nature by providing outdoor views and other natural features,
including interior gardens and water elements.
 Enhance the patient’s feeling of being in control by offering options and choices – these
may include privacy versus socialization, lighting level, type of music and quiet versus
active waiting areas.
 Encourage opportunities for social support, such as providing appropriate seating in
patient rooms, privacy for small groups and overnight accommodations in patient rooms.

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http://thedaylightsite.com/design-parameters-for-healing-hospitals/
  Provide positive distractions, such as interactive art, fireplaces, aquariums, internet
connection, music, or soothing video or light installations suited to the healthcare setting.
 Inspire feelings of peace, hope, reflection and spiritual connection.

Benefits of healing architecture

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Recent examples have shown how thoughtful architecture and design focused on promoting
healing can have a measurable impact on patient recovery, including shorter hospital stays, fewer
infections contracted in the hospital and reduced pain.

Research by Dr. Roger Ulrich, a professor of architecture at the Center for Healthcare Building
Research at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, found that gallbladder surgery
patients assigned to a room with a window view of a natural setting had shorter postoperative
hospital stays as compared to patients in similar rooms with windows facing a brick building
wall. Similar research by the Department of Neuropsychiatric Sciences at the University of
Milan found that patients with bipolar disorder assigned to brighter, east-facing rooms with
morning sunlight had hospital stays nearly four days shorter than those with west-facing rooms.

According to a study by the Environmental Design Research Association, during the weeks that
posters of realistic nature scenes were hung in the multipurpose lounge of an acute psychiatric
clinic, the administration of “as-needed” injections to manage patients who exhibit “aggressive
and agitated” behavior was 70 percent lower than when the walls were blank. These results also
apply and are even improved when patients are in contact with actual views of nature.

Healing architecture can also encompass strategies intended to reduce the spread of infection. A
recent trend in the healthcare industry is to grade hospitals based on the likelihood of a patient
incurring an infection in the facility that is different from the medical issue for which the patient
was admitted. According to The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit committed to
pursuing quality, safety and transparency in the U.S. healthcare system, 1 out of every 25
patients develops an infection while in a hospital.

A hospital and other health facilities shall be planned and designed to observe appropriate architectural
practices. These guidelines was to meet the prescribed function of the facility according to Department of
Health.

Cultural Attitude towards Hospital Design

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https://www.sageglass.com/en/article/healing-architecture-hospital-design-and-patient-outcomes
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Health care attitudes reflect the basic world view and values of a culture, such as how we relate
to nature, other people, time, being, society versus community, children versus elders and
independence versus dependence. Illness behavior determines who is vulnerable to illness and
who agrees to become a patient since only about one third of the ill will see a physician. Cultural
values determine how one will behave as a patient and what it means to be ill and especially to
be a hospital patient. They affect decisions about a patient's treatment and who makes the
decisions. Cultural differences create problems in communication, rapport, physical examination
and treatment compliance and follow through. The special meaning of medicines and diet
requires particular attention. The perception of physical pain and psychologic distress varies
from culture to culture and affects the attitudes and effectiveness of care-givers as much as of
patients. Religious beliefs and attitudes about death, which have many cultural variations, are
especially relevant to hospital-based treatment. Linguistic and cultural interpreters can be
essential; they are more available than realized, though there are pitfalls in their use. Finally, one
must recognize that individual characteristics may outweigh the ethnic and that a good caring
relationship can compensate for many cultural missteps.

Design Guidelines

1. Environment

A hospital and other health facilities shall be so located that it is readily accessible to the community and
reasonably free from undue noise, smoke, dust, foul odor, flood, and shall not be located adjacent to
railroads, freight yards, children's playgrounds, airports, industrial plants, disposal plants.

2. Occupancy

A building designed for other purpose shall not be converted into a hospital. The location of a hospital
shall comply with all local zoning ordinances.

3. Safety

A hospital and other health facilities shall provide and maintain a safe environment for patients, personnel
and public. The building shall be of such construction so that no hazards to the life and safety of patients,
personnel and public exist. It shall be capable of withstanding weight and elements to which they may be
subjected.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1011024/
4. Security

A hospital and other health facilities shall ensure the security of person and property within the facility.

5. Patient Movement

Spaces shall be wide enough for free movement of patients, whether they are on beds, stretchers, or
wheelchairs. Circulation routes for transferring patients from one area to another shall be available and
free at all times.

6. Lighting

All areas in a hospital and other health facilities shall be provided with sufficient illumination to promote
comfort, healing and recovery of patients and to enable personnel in the performance of work.

7. Ventilation

Adequate ventilation shall be provided to ensure comfort of patients, personnel and public.

8. Parking A hospital and other health facilities shall provide a minimum of one (1) parking space for
every twenty-five (25) beds

9. Zoning The different areas of a hospital shall be grouped according to zones as follows:

9.1 Outer Zone – areas that are immediately accessible to the public: emergency service,
outpatient service, and administrative service. They shall be located near the entrance of the hospital.

9.2 Second Zone – areas that receive workload from the outer zone: laboratory, pharmacy, and
radiology. They shall be located near the outer zone.

9.3 Inner Zone – areas that provide nursing care and management of patients: nursing service.
They shall be located in private areas but accessible to guests.

9.4 Deep Zone – areas that require asepsis to perform the prescribed services: surgical service,
delivery service, nursery, and intensive care. They shall be segregated from the public areas but accessible
to the outer, second and inner zones.
 9.5 Service Zone – areas that provide support to hospital activities: dietary service, housekeeping
service, maintenance and motor pool service, and mortuary. They shall be located in areas away from
normal traffic.

10. Function The different areas of a hospital shall be functionally related with each other.

10.1. The emergency service shall be located in the ground floor to ensure immediate access. A
separate entrance to the emergency room shall be provided.

10.2 The administrative service, particularly admitting office and business office, shall be located
near the main entrance of the hospital. Offices for hospital management can be located in private areas.

10.3 The surgical service shall be located and arranged to prevent non-related traffic. The
operating room shall be as remote as practicable from the entrance to provide asepsis. The dressing room
shall be located to avoid exposure to dirty areas after changing to surgical garments. The nurse station
shall be located to permit visual observation of patient movement.

10.4 The delivery service shall be located and arranged to prevent non-related traffic. The
delivery room shall be as remote as practicable from the entrance to provide asepsis. The dressing room
shall be located to avoid exposure to dirty areas after changing to surgical garments. The nurse station
shall be located to permit visual observation of patient movement. The nursery shall be separate but
immediately accessible from the delivery room.

10.5 The nursing service shall be segregated from public areas. The nurse station shall be located to
permit visual observation of patients. Nurse stations shall be provided in all inpatient units of the hospital
with a ratio of at least one (1) nurse station for every thirty-five (35) beds. Rooms and wards shall be of
sufficient size to allow for work flow and patient movement. Toilets shall be immediately accessible from
rooms and wards.