With any renovation, improvement or design, managers want to keep the final user of the space in mind. This is especially true with healthcare organizations. In addition to accommodating specialized medical equipment, these spaces should make patients feel comfortable. Increasingly, design teams seek to modernize hospitals and doctor’s offices to enhance the patient’s experience.
One of the most effective strategies is incorporating natural light. However, it’s not always possible to install windows in every room or waiting area. An innovative solution is fake windows for offices. Learn more about this alternative design element for offices and healthcare environments.
Enhancing Patient Experience with Fake Windows for Offices and Healthcare
Going to the hospital or a doctor’s office can be an unnerving experience. For those with long-term healthcare needs, hospital stays could continue for months. Couple this situation with a lack of natural lighting, and you have a significant drop in the quality of a patient’s overall well-being.
Many studies indicate the adverse health effects of a lack of exposure to sunlight. Some research links inadequate exposure to sunlight to thousands of deaths in the United States each year, plus many other serious health conditions. Conversely, other studies have found patients exposed to natural light experience benefits, such as shorter hospital stays.
What’s the relationship between natural light and well-being? On the physical side, safe exposure to sunlight can boost your vitamin D intake. On the mental and emotional side, natural light can stimulate a chemical in the brain called serotonin, which can enhance energy and promote positivity and better concentration.
There’s another, more philosophical reason natural light has health benefits. This has to do with biophilia, or humans’ love of and desire to connect to nature. Biophilia is part of why fake windows in hospitals and doctor’s offices can provide better patient experiences.
A combination of natural light, soothing colors, and images of natural scenery fosters a calming atmosphere. This all helps patients to maintain a connection to the natural world and reduces their anxiety. For example, a fake window may come with an image of trees or a meadow of flowers. In this way, healthcare organizations can evoke natural lighting and activate biophilia.
Privacy and Comfort in Examination Rooms
Designing the ideal medical space is about striking a balance between privacy and comfort. Enclosed spaces promote comfort but often lack openness. This means patients may end up feeling claustrophobic.
Studies have analyzed the emotional effect of spaces that lack windows. For example, one study considered the impact on office workers’ emotional well-being and their access to natural light and views of the outdoors. The results uncovered that such access could reduce perceived feelings of depression, which may affect aspects of physical health like sleep and clarity of thought.
At the same time, design teams are incorporating more privacy elements in medical offices, such as shielded walls and soundproofing materials. These aspects offer assurance for patients and providers who want to maintain compliance. They ensure conversations about care and treatment remain confidential.
In areas where windows aren’t or would require significant design changes to install, fake windows promote a sense of openness that contributes to better emotional well-being. What’s more, they do this without compromising confidentiality.
Cost-Effectiveness and Easy Installation
When debating between installing windows or fake windows in medical offices, design teams want to consider the cost. Many factors dictate the overall costs of installing windows, from the type of window to labor to ensuring the building meets code requirements. Current estimates state the cost of installing windows could be between $578 and $859 per window.
Fake windows offer more flexibility as they can be installed in areas where traditional window installation isn’t feasible. Design teams can expect to spend less time and money with fake windows, as they won’t need to reconstruct rooms and worry about how fake windows might affect health and safety codes. When construction managers operate on a tight budget, fake windows provide a cost-effective alternative.
Positive Impact on Patient Well-Being
The benefits fake windows provide mean they won’t go unnoticed by patients. They show patients that providers, and by extension the clinic, prioritize patient-centered care. This can facilitate healthier interactions between patients and staff and make administering treatment easier.
As a result, the facility often experiences a boost in its reputation. Patients cite more comfort and feel that providers genuinely value their health and well-being. This can help hospitals and doctor’s offices secure more patients.
Explore Fake Windows for Medical Offices With DSA Signage
If healthcare providers wish to enhance patient comfort, satisfaction, and overall health and wellness, they should consider fake windows. They not only positively impact patient’s mental and emotional well-being, but are much more cost-effective to install than traditional windows.
Construction and design managers interested in implementing fake windows for offices can turn to DSA Signage. We brighten brands with world-class visual displays, including LED light boxes and digital signage. Our team of experts can design, engineer, and build innovative fake windows and signage for numerous industries.
Contact us today to learn more about your options for fake windows.
