Premature babies vulnerable “Premature babies, with their growing brains, are especially sensitive to loud noises. In spite of this, neonatal units often generate a great deal of loud noise from equipment, alarms, and adult voices. And incubator vibrates like a drum, reinforcing sounds from outside,” explains Dr. Johannes Van den Berg, a neonatal nursing specialist. […]
ECO Magazine
Healing environment in The Meander Medical Centre
The Meander Medical Centre in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, was built entirely according to healing environment principles. The recently opened Meander Medical Centre in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, was built entirely according to these principles. The layout and design of this hospital are intended to facilitate much-needed rest and promote the recovery process. At a recent seminar […]
A healing environment for violent offenders
Violent offenders From the outside, Helix looks like a modern office complex on a hill nestled amid beautiful, unspoiled scenery. From the large windows of the patients’ rooms, you can gaze out for miles over a panorama of spruce and pine forests. Helix, opened in December 2012, is a forensic psychiatric care facility. Many of […]
ECO Magazine – publishing prize finalist!
ECO magazine, dedicated to sound environments in healthcare, has been recognized in Sweden’s longest-running comprehensive communication competition. Competing in the category of Digital Magazine, ECO magazine is up against five other nominees. The jury will judge the entire product, not just the design and the winners are announced at a gala event in Stockholm on […]
Healing in the Jungle
The Jungle Happiness is a great healer. We want the stay in a hospital to be a fun and exciting experience for the kids,” explains Tomas Gedda, Head of fundraising at the Foundation for Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital in Gothenburg. Four years have now passed since Tomas Gedda embarked on the successful healing jungle rooms […]
Serene low-risk births in Birmingham
Low-risk “Given the difficulty of communicating with some of our patients, it was important to create an environment where they could feel safe and supported by our midwives,” says Paul Scott, capital projects manager at the City Hospital in Birmingham. The Serenity Midwifery Birth Centre provides low-risk women with a tranquil, state-of-the-art place to give birth. “It was an […]
Communication a key issue in Emergency units
Communication Stress levels run high in the emergency department. Mistakes are unacceptable. Patients’ lives depend on the skill and focus of the emergency medical team. Clear, precise communication is invaluable, so the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein in Lübeck, Germany, decided to create the optimum conditions for it. Patients’ lives depend on the skill and focus […]
Generative space design in healthcare
Space design Fiona de Vos works with hospitals, nursing homes, mental healthcare facilities and other healthcare organizations to define strategic objectives and design goals from the perspective of evidence-based space design and a healing environment. She is the expert teaching this course at the University of Amsterdam. And also the founder of Studio dVO, a consulting and research firm […]
Effects of noise and stress to nurses
Nurses Pernilla Svensson is a registered nurse in Klippan, near Helsingborg in southern Sweden. For the past 20 years, she has worked in a variety of hospital settings. ECO for Sustainable Design filmed her sharing some of her experiences regarding the working environment in the healthcare sector. Without much previous reflection on noise and the […]
How the latest healthcare design trends impact the acoustics
The latest trends in healthcare design aim to construct environments that are fit for healing and consider the patients’ experience. Hospitals seem to be undergoing the same transition as offices did a while back; they are becoming more open, using more glass and light surfaces, and making the most of natural daylight and splashes of […]
