Hospitals make people sicker than they have to be

[AliNajaCat]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/well/live/bad-hospital-design-is-making-us-sicker.html?hpw=undefined&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0

Hospitals are making people sicker as a side effect of their design. Since this author is a doc and doesn't say much about nursing, what's your experience?

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

Having been both a patient and a nurse I think this article makes some great points - I now insist on a private room when I am going to be hospitalized - And my insurance pays for it. It's actually included at a slightly higher premium.

Hppy

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

LOL - I am always amused when a physician "discovers" something that has been around like - forever. He should have taken some time to do a bit of research. For instance, the Planetree healing design concept that has been around for a quite a while. I have had the privilege of visiting a couple of their locations & would have loved to work in one if it was closer to my home.

What will physicians discover next?? Units with adequate staff have fewer patient falls? (gasp)... *sarcasm*.

[Wuzzie]

I would have preferred he didn't start with nurse-directed snark but whatevs. He does make good points but I don't think any of them are particularly novel. I wish we didn't hermetically seal patients in the building. I know I hated not being able to get fresh air when I was hospitalized. Even an atrium garden would have been nice.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Proximity to nature would be a nice touch. But a lot of the things he mentioned are directly related to nurse staffing levels: IV alarms, bed alarms, falls. Until hospital bean counters stop seeing nurses as extravagant overhead, much isn't going to change.

[AliNajaCat]

There was a space for comments in the link when I looked at it, and at least one nurse made these points. it's hard when the wheel gets re-invented; when a doc (and a young one in residency at that) points at nursing it's particularly annoying.

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

LOL - I am always amused when a physician "discovers" something that has been around like - forever. He should have taken some time to do a bit of research. For instance, the Planetree healing design concept that has been around for a quite a while. I have had the privilege of visiting a couple of their locations & would have loved to work in one if it was closer to my home.

What will physicians discover next?? Units with adequate staff have fewer patient falls? (gasp)... *sarcasm*.

This is a resident doc so maybe he had his very first encounter w/ a patient who is indignant about having to be in a shared room???

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

There was a space for comments in the link when I looked at it, and at least one nurse made these points. it's hard when the wheel gets re-invented; when a doc (and a young one in residency at that) points at nursing it's particularly annoying.

Where I work, we go out of our way NOT to bug the docs at night so saying that he gets paged for things he considers small is really annoying and is likely coming from his inability to relinquish the idea that his and ONLY his sleep is precious (they'll break him, eventually). He has very likely put orders in for things or has been a part of teaching moments that have greatly and repeatedly disturbed a patient's sleep as well.

[Cheyenne RN,BSHS]

I cannot imagine being sick and in pain and having to share a hospital room. Having to share a sick room with someone loud with tons of family or a demented screamer would make me jump off the roof. I would rather just go ahead and die. I am an introvert, and when I am really sick, I just want to be left alone. It isn't really rocket science to realize private rooms allow mental health and reduce the spread of infection.

[Natasha A., CNA, LVN]

Proximity to nature would be a nice touch. But a lot of the things he mentioned are directly related to nurse staffing levels: IV alarms, bed alarms, falls. Until hospital bean counters stop seeing nurses as extravagant overhead, much isn't going to change.

The interesting thing is that many situations can be subsided with hourly rounds. Vigilance is key

[Natasha A., CNA, LVN]

I would have preferred he didn't start with nurse-directed snark but whatevs. He does make good points but I don't think any of them are particularly novel. I wish we didn't hermetically seal patients in the building. I know I hated not being able to get fresh air when I was hospitalized. Even an atrium garden would have been nice.

So true