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Giving Every Patient the Beyoncé Experience

 |  By Marianne@example.com  
   January 18, 2012

The gossip mills have gone into overdrive since celebrity power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z welcomed their daughter Blue Ivy into the world this month at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan.

Much of the hype is standard fare among celebrity births—discussing the child’s unique name, guessing when photos will be released, and debating which weight-loss company the mother will sign with to lose the extra pregnancy pounds. But in Blue Ivy's case, the media is also focusing on the allegedly lavish hospital suite in which she was born.

Of course, the media has also been reporting on the tight security measures that may have been enacted in the Lenox Hill maternity ward while Beyoncé was there. There were rumors that other parents weren't allowed to see their babies and that the musicians' personal security guards patrolled the halls, but so far New York state health officials have dismissed the two complaints that were filed, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But some of the more sensational reports, and those that are more interesting to the patient experience-focused marketer, are about Beyoncé "penthouse-style" maternity room. According to the sometimes-reputable TMZ, the hospital room featured "4 flat screen TV's, state of the art electronics, a kitchenette, nice art, mahogany walls,  and plush furnishings." 

Leaked photos of the room show a large, modern-looking space with hardwood flooring, sleek white couches, some artwork, and lots of windows. Nothing about the room stuck me as especially excessive, but it did get me thinking. The public has such low expectations for hospital design and the patient experience that anything above mediocre seems extravagant.

 

Unfortunately, the patient experience bar has been set low, but this also means there is a prime opportunity for hospital marketers to give every patient the celebrity treatment, even if there isn't room in the budget for any major redesigns.

To glean some insight, I researched three hospitals that have recently updated their facilities to improve the patient experience and incorporate evidence-based design elements: Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and Dublin Methodist Hospital in Ohio.

Enhance privacy and include families

Whether the patient is a music mogul or an average Joe, everyone values their privacy during a hospital stay. Patients are also keen to keep their loved ones near.

Beyoncé's Lenox Hill Hospital offers patients private and semi-private rooms as well as nearby family waiting rooms.

At Virginia's Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, all patient rooms are private and divided into three sections—a physician area, a patient area, and a family area. Each room also includes a couch and pull-out bed for family members.

All patient rooms in Children's Hospital Colorado in the Denver metro area are private and feature full-size pull-out beds and storage room to accommodate two family members overnight. Rooms also include a private bathroom with a shower, and some even include tubs for bathing small children.

The large, single-patient rooms at Ohio's Dublin Methodist Hospital include ample family space and were designed to reduce noise, increase privacy, and support family presence in the care-giving process. Sound-absorbing ceiling tiles and flooring have been installed throughout the nursing unit and in common areas, in an effort to reduce noise and enhance privacy. Hospital leaders also decided to eliminate overhead paging to try to keep noise levels low.

If your organization isn't in a position to make all rooms private or install sound-absorbing tiles throughout, there are still several takeaways here. Go the extra mile to make patient family members comfortable, whether that means purchasing futons, providing blankets, or simply asking nursing staff to check in on them every once in a while.

And it’s always a good time to reevaluate patient privacy and noise levels. If your organization regularly uses overhead pages, it may be time to take steps to eliminate that communication method. If you can't install sound-absorbing tiles everywhere, perhaps you can afford them in key areas. Alternatively, you could install white-noise machines in especially loud areas to improve noise levels and improve privacy.

 

Make modern amenities available

Does your hospital offer patients free Wi-Fi? Do you provide computer kiosks that family may use? If you don't already, it's time to start considering these investments. Patients and their family members expect to be able to stay connected throughout the course of their stay.

The three hospitals I researched, Starbucks, McDonald's, and even some airlines offer free Wi-Fi access. In addition to keeping in touch with work, family, and friends, patients need Internet access to view their electronic medical records.

Beyond Internet access, Children's Hospital Colorado patient rooms also feature flat-screen televisions and video on-demand. It also offers patients a room-service menu featuring healthy meal and snack options for patients and family members.

Lenox Hill Hospital, in addition to free wifi and its flat-screen TVs, provides Bose sound systems in its maternity rooms. It also offers birthing balls, baby photography services, and a "preferred" dining menu.

These more modern entertainment and dining features had no place in the hospitals of yesterday, but now they are becoming expected. If you can't yet invest in flat screens or built-in sound systems, try to help patients get the most out of whatever entertainment you have available. Provide patients and family members with a list of TV channels they can get in their room and have staff instruct them on how to use the remote.

When I was hospitalized as a child one of my nurses brought in her daughter's "Lion King" VHS tape for me to watch, and it is one of the few pleasant memories of my stay. It's the small, simple touches like these that can make a world of difference to a patient.

Incorporate light, nature, and art whenever possible

Fort Belvoir Community Hospital boasts a design filled with bright colors, nature themes, and countless floor-to ceiling windows bringing in floods of light.

Windows and skylights exude light and enable patients to look at the rural landscape at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The hospital has an extensive art collection and many of the pieces feature scenes from nature. Hospital designers also used color therapy throughout the facility.

"Research shows that certain colors can aid in healing. For instance, blue is relaxing and has one of the most powerful healing effects on children," reads the hospital website. "Green increases compassion and has a calming effect. Red strengthens energy and will. This knowledge guided color choices throughout the hospital."

Dublin Methodist Hospital also features nature throughout the building, most spectacularly in its window-walled lobby that features a tree-filled arboretum. "With quiet, intimate family spaces, natural light and beautiful gardens, our space is centered on helping you get better and feel better, too," the website says.

Can't afford an arboretum inside your lobby? There are still many ways to bring nature in. Real, live plants beat fake ones any day, and artwork featuring a beautiful landscape or quiet outdoor scene is never out of place. And if any walls are due for repainting, it may be worth looking into color therapy—especially if the current wall color is drab.

By beginning to incorporate these patient experience-enhancing elements into more hospitals, marketers can begin to raise the public's expectations for their hospital stays. Perhaps by the time Blue Ivy has her first child, the room she was born in won't look extraordinary at all.

Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.

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