Lighting the Way to Better Health Outcomes
Chuck Ross
Keeping hospital balance sheets profitable is a challenging proposition for healthcare organizations. That’s certainly one reason why so many have undertaken lighting upgrades over the last decade to move to more efficient LED lamps and fixtures. The energy savings, alone, often can pay for the transition within 2-3 years. But as LED products have improved over the same period, hospital planners have learned the technology also can help support larger goals of improving patient comfort and healing. By combining LEDs’ inherent adjustability with advanced controls, designers and contractors in this market can create layered lighting systems that give patients, doctors, nurses and visitors the illumination each group needs to support the goals of shorter patient stays and better health outcomes.
Patient rooms offer a great example of how lighting can be designed to meet multiple needs. Patients, of course, are front and center, so having controls they can access easily from a bed or chair is critical – as is the ability to dim or brighten fixtures, not just turn them on and off. Newer fixtures also offer tunable white adjustment, meaning the ability to shift light output from cooler, blue-toned illumination during daytime hours to warmer, yellower hues to aid relaxation as bedtime approaches.
As primary caregivers, nurses need the ability to check on patient conditions during the night without disturbing their sleep. Today’s control systems support this requirement through low-light settings and under-cabinet strip fixtures to provide adequate brightness for visual checks and for any charting required to track patient progress, but not disturb sleep.
During their time with patients, physicians require bright, clear illumination to be able to see and visible symptoms related to a patient’s condition. Being able to adjust light color to something approaching natural daylight, even during nighttime hours, helps support these efforts.
And family and friends who might be staying for hours at a time – or even overnight – can have their own lighting requirements. Many newer hospitals have added sleeping areas in patient rooms for these visitors. Providing them with their own dedicated fixtures and controls can give them the illumination they need for work, reading or other tasks they might need to keep up with, as they also are providing care and support to their recovering loved ones.
Patient rooms offer a great example of how lighting can be designed to meet multiple needs. Patients, of course, are front and center, so having controls they can access easily from a bed or chair is critical – as is the ability to dim or brighten fixtures, not just turn them on and off. Newer fixtures also offer tunable white adjustment, meaning the ability to shift light output from cooler, blue-toned illumination during daytime hours to warmer, yellower hues to aid relaxation as bedtime approaches.
As primary caregivers, nurses need the ability to check on patient conditions during the night without disturbing their sleep. Today’s control systems support this requirement through low-light settings and under-cabinet strip fixtures to provide adequate brightness for visual checks and for any charting required to track patient progress, but not disturb sleep.
During their time with patients, physicians require bright, clear illumination to be able to see and visible symptoms related to a patient’s condition. Being able to adjust light color to something approaching natural daylight, even during nighttime hours, helps support these efforts.
And family and friends who might be staying for hours at a time – or even overnight – can have their own lighting requirements. Many newer hospitals have added sleeping areas in patient rooms for these visitors. Providing them with their own dedicated fixtures and controls can give them the illumination they need for work, reading or other tasks they might need to keep up with, as they also are providing care and support to their recovering loved ones.
Photo courtesy of CREE Lighting
