The University Medical Center of Princeton in Plainsboror, N.J., found patients asked for 30 percent less pain medication after patient rooms were redesigned for the new facility, according to an article on The New York Times website.
Ratings of patient satisfaction are in the 99th percentile, up from the 61st percentile before the new rooms, according to the article. Infection rates and the number of accidents have never been lower.
"Several hundred decisions, major and minuscule, common-sensical and arcane, went into configuring the room. Many of them may sound so obvious that one can wonder, financial and real estate constraints aside, why they haven’t always been standard," the article said.
The new rooms have a sink positioned in plain sight, so nurses and doctors will be sure to wash their hands, and patients can watch them do so, the article said. There is also a second sink is in the bathroom, which is next to the bed, and a handrail linking the bed and bathroom.
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