New single-patient rooms with a hands-free sink, sliding bathroom door and a computer for caregivers led to a 30 percent reduction in the use of pain medication, according to Barry Rabner, president and CEO of the Princeton HealthCare System.
According to an article on NJ.com, the patients in the new rooms started rating the food as better and saying staff members were more attentive and responsive. In addition, patients developed fewer infections during their stays.
Various additional elements were worked into the 231 rooms spread out across 636,000-square-feet of space at Princeton's Plainsboro facility. But it’s difficult to determine which element or combination of changes made the difference, Rabner said in the article.
“The problem is that when we moved here, everything changed — all new spaces, policies, procedures, training — we changed everything, so it’s hard to go back now and say the infection rate is lower because those curtains have antibacterial properties,” Rabner said.
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