By Dan Hounsell

The nation’s hospitals and other healthcare facilities are unique among institutional and commercial facilities in a number of important and obvious ways, but when it comes to one challenge — staffing — they are just like other facilities. From nurses and therapists to maintenance technicians and housekeepers, hospitals are struggling to retain workers and replace those who have left.  

For facility managers, the staffing challenge is two-pronged: enhance the appeal of job openings in their departments and upgrade facilities overall to make them as appealing as possible to current and potential employees. Managers can address this challenge by focusing on three key areas of facilities when planning renovations and expansions: 

• Lighting. By understanding the benefits that lighting technology can have on workers and patients, managers can ensure that hospital investments in new-generation lighting delivers important benefits related to staffing. 
• Nature. Longstanding research confirms that exposure to natural environments benefits the healing process and workplace morale, and healthcare designers continue to envision more opportunities to bring the outdoors into the indoor environment. 
• Recovery. Providers need to decompress given their daily routines, which include being on their feet for most of their shifts. Spaces to sit and relax are becoming more important as the COVID-19 pandemic plays out.

Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 25 years of experience covering engineering, maintenance, and grounds management issues in institutional and commercial facilities.