Healthcare facilities have unique door opening applications and specific door hardware requirements, according to an article on the FacilityCare website.

For instance, staff restrooms and patient restrooms have two types of doors. A patient restroom requires emergency rescue hardware — and the door has to swing out into the patient room. Staff restrooms do not have the same requirements and codes.

Identifying door sets by their function is beneficial not only during the specs creation, but also when coordinating with electrical engineers and for reference in user group meetings, the article said.

When the main concerns are security and safety, identifying user needs is key. Behavioral health facility doors, for instance, require different levels of security throughout the facility. Continuous hinges with sloped hospital tips on patient room doors make it difficult to wrap or hang things from them. Emergency door sensors alert staff when a heavy item is hung over the door. 

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