Luxury Hospital Facilities Put Patient Experience First

Each patient room comes equipped with a sleep sofa or lounge chair for family members. In the Children's Center, there is a kitchenette and laundry facilities on each floor for parents. There are even separate elevator rooms for guests and patients being transported within the hospital.

"We believe that a patient's family is a fundamental partner in that patient's care. So along with creating the safest, most compassionate environment for our patients, our new building also is designed to allow family members to comfortably stay with their loved ones 24 hours a day when appropriate," says Judy A. Reitz, Sc.D, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. 

Patient experience on a budget: Not all health systems have a billion-dollar budget, or even a budget large enough to create exclusively private rooms. But there are other ways to make rooms feel private, by using sound-absorbing tiles and well-placed white noise. And a modest investment in art and greenery can make any facility seem infinitely more cheerful.

Lurie Children's Hospital, Chicago IL
On June 9, Children's Memorial Hospital will move and change its name to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. In addition to these changes, the hospital will experience a major facility update when it moves into its new $855 million home.

The building, which is LEED-certified, consists of 23 stories, 1.25 million square feet, and 288 beds in all-private rooms. The facility contains decentralized nursing stations so care givers are closer to patients as part of a "creative, unique, healing interior design." 

The design was greatly influenced by former patients who are on the hospital's Kid's Advisory Board. They were influential in the addition of The Crown Sky Garden, a 5,000 square-foot rooftop garden built so hospital-bound patients can breathe some fresh air and enjoy the outdoors without leaving the building. View slideshow.

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