In patient care and staff concentration areas, reducing noise is very important, according to an article on the Facility Management website. 

Noise often tops the list of patient complaints during a hospital stay. Long hallways, alarming medical equipment, paging systems and flat surfaces make perfect conditions for echo, the article said.

When a hospital in Rochester, N.Y., was looking for ways to create a more comfortable atmosphere, it needed something quieter than traditional electronic latches.

By incorporating a mechanical damper to decelerate mechanical push pads on the push and return stroke, most of the noise associated with push pad exit devices is eliminated, the article said. Plus, replacing magnetic solenoids that require high voltage inrushes — which create a traditional noisy electronic latch retraction — with motor-driven latch retraction results in a much quieter solution and fewer disturbances, the article said. 

Read the article.