Environments in which people feel safe, comfortable and confident in the care they receive can ensure a positive patient experience, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.

Rick Evans, senior vice president and chief experience officer, New York-Presbyterian, New York City, said that patient satisfaction is about more than simply making patients happy; it’s about delivering great care. “And I would argue that facilities play a key role.” 

Several healthcare organizations have linked facility improvement projects to better patient-experience ratings.

To address scores related to the HCAHPS question about whether the hospital is quiet at night, Cleveland Clinic mitigated noise by installing sound-absorbing ceiling tile and quieter door latches, holding rounds in rooms instead of corridors, turning off TVs that aren’t in use, setting pagers to vibrate mode, lowering the unit telephone ring volume, and replacing casters and wheels on rolled equipment with quieter models, the article said.

Read the article.