Healthcare facilities managers are being held to an increasingly higher standards for creating a culture of safety, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.
Many safety improvements are connected to infection control. Along with room-pressure indicators and alarms for monitoring the direction of airflow into or out of a room, hospitals will continue to explore new infection control technology.
Facilities managers continue to focus on slips and falls. More hospitals are turning to electronic patient lifts designed to lift and transfer patients from one place to another — such as bed to chair or chair to stretcher — to reduce patient falls and staff back injuries.
Also, designers see a movement toward designing to increase efficiency in rooms, corridors and workflow areas, and to make the most of existing space.
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