Healthcare Building Design
In an industry where results are measured first by patients’ health outcomes, both hospital caregivers and
administrators need support from the physical environment in which their patients are being treated and
recovering.
There are more than 600 scientific studies that document the positive impact of a range of design characteristics, such as
single-rooms versus multi-bed rooms, reduced noise, improved lighting, better ventilation, better ergonomic designs,
supportive workplaces and improved layout, that help reduce errors, reduce stress, reduce pain and drugs, improve
sleep and improve other outcomes[1].
A scan of the medical literature, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by the Center for Health Design,
found hundreds of articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals demonstrating the effects of the hospital environment on
patients and staff. More than 120 of those studies link infection to the physical structure of the hospital, and several
of those specifically link air quality and infection rates.
Knowledge of the design, tools and technologies that can help mitigate the spread of infection in hospitals is critical
to healthy hospitals going forward. Trane has been collecting data on the effects of building design and
system performance on indoor air quality, lighting, moisture control, filtration, air cleaning, ventilation and
temperature.
This knowledge and data are integrated into our design and analysis tools to help create hospitals with the
versatility, flexibility, and comfort needed to meet a wide variety of patient and staff needs.