• Durable lighting provides security and orientation

• A pleasant light atmosphere promotes well-being and healing in patients

• Good lighting conditions help staff to work efficiently and precisely
  

Tailored for every area of application

Well-chosen lighting solutions create an atmosphere that calms individuals and creates trust. This is the only way that light can have a salubrious effect.

Light in hospitals

Hospitals place high demands on light. The right light must be available in every area of application – delivering the exact quality that is required and serving as a reliable, energy-efficient and low-maintenance solution.

Good light promotes healing

The requirements placed on lighting in hospitals are just as broad as these institutions' missions are: The lighting in patients' rooms should have a salubrious effect. The needs of physicians and nursing personnel in operating rooms, treatment areas and laboratories have to be taken into consideration. Attention also has to be given to optimal lighting in waiting rooms, outside areas and administrative offices. The parameters that apply to hospital lighting are always light quality, reliability, efficiency, sustainability and the perfect suitability for the particular lighting job.

Light in retirement and nursing homes

The highest lighting priorities of retirement homes, nursing facilities and rehabilitation clinics are safety and visibility. The emotional aspect of light is critical as well: Retirement homes are made more homey and comfortable by light. In rehabilitation clinics, the healing process is promoted by it. Clear, glare-free light for safety, indirect lighting for a pleasant setting, and colorful light sequences to create a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.

Light is happiness

Thanks to light, we can see when it's dark – that's still the main function of artificial light today. But recent studies have shown that natural daylight also controls our inner clock and that light has a significant impact on our feeling of well-being. The state-of-the-art lighting systems of LEDVANCE draw on this effect and can help increase people's concentration, performance and quality of life.

Light in doctors offices

Light is much more than just brightness. Particularly in doctors' offices, lighting has a broad range of requirements to meet and jobs to perform. Two lighting aspects must be considered in particular for doctors' offices: Optimal work lighting that assists physicians and office personnel and lighting that has a positive emotional effect on patients' well-being.​

Measuring Success

Hospital administrators know that the better patients feel emotionally, the faster they will heal physically. This is one of the key factors driving the choice of a healthcare facility.

When selecting a healthcare facility such as a hospital or long-term care residence, patients have traditionally looked for the best possible care from highly qualified medical personnel. While the quality of care will continue to be of paramount importance, the last ten years have seen a trend; patients are moving beyond the healthcare facility’s performance rankings to other more emotional and environmental qualities such as privacy, room comfort, ambiance, calm and clean surroundings and the comfort of guests and loved ones. Today’s patients are better informed and are taking increasingly greater responsibility for their personal health and medical intervention.

As a result, today’s healthcare facilities are focused on providing increased levels of patient comfort as well as care. By creating more positive environments, healthcare providers can directly impact patient satisfaction and overall quality of health. Hospital facilities are including additional “amenities” including cafés and libraries to attract and satisfy patients and staff. These demands are driving many sweeping changes in the design/development of new healthcare facilities and the updating and renovating of existing ones.

Good lighting is essential to satisfying these goals. In the intense 24/7 working environment of hospitals, lighting gives healthcare professionals the ability to adapt the environment to their own preferences enhancing motivation and visual comfort. Hospital workers such as pharmacists and nurses have fewer errors at higher illuminance levels.

Lighting helps patients feel at ease and involved in the healing process. Lighting synchronizes the human biological clock or circadian system, affecting how building occupants feel, physiologically and psychologically. Because lighting is tied to patient healing and safety, it can have a positive effect on the cost of care and the hospital’s operational and insurance costs.​

Lighting and Your Bottom Line

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Healthcare providers and managers benefit when efficiently run facilities deliver high-quality care to patients with reduced administrative effort and lower overall operating costs. New or upgraded lighting is a key component in the well being of your staff, your patients and your budget. Patients benefit from improved clinical outcomes and a better overall experience.

While the primary goal of any hospital is quality of patient care, it is still a business - it must generate a profit for its owners and achieve its financial goals as well. According to the GHX, (Global Healthcare Exchange) one of the biggest challenges facing healthcare providers today is how to deliver better patient care, while increasing efficiency and reducing operating expenses. Lighting can be a key player in enhancing the quality of patient care and helping protect the bottom line.

Hospitals account for more than 30 percent of all healthcare expenditures globally. Because hospitals are 24/7 operations, even small steps like standardizing lamp types and luminaires throughout the facility translates into energy savings, extended maintenance intervals and reduced labor costs. The savings realized by these operational changes will help pay for the new lighting systems in the years ahead. 

Energy and Sustainability

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Hospitals are one of the largest consumers of electricity in the commercial sector. They have the highest energy use per unit of floor space, almost twice as much as the average office building.  As regulatory authorities in the U.S. continue to tighten sustainability standards, healthcare facilities are encouraged to adopt energy-saving lighting replacement and upgrade strategies to enhance patient comfort, control operational costs and promote a “green” image. The long-term savings can quickly repay the minimal capital investment saving funds for the key mission: healthcare.

Sustainable Lighting for Healthcare Facilities

Hospitals are large public buildings that have a significant impact on the environment and economy of the surrounding community. They are heavy users of energy and water and produce large amounts of waste. Because hospitals place such demands on community resources they are natural candidates for sustainable design. Many healthcare providers are examining strategies to “green” their buildings and implement sustainable operations

Lighting Design Goals

Hospitals are complex, task intensive facilities. Many of the spaces in a typical healthcare facility such as corridors, offices, restaurants, conference rooms, and lobbies, are also found in other public facilities. The lighting requirements for these spaces are fairly straightforward and similar. Others space are entirely unique to the healthcare segment: patient rooms, examination rooms, emergency rooms, operating rooms, nursing stations, monitoring and observation rooms, intensive and acute care units, etc..

Lighting requirements for patients will usually be subdued and unobtrusive, while medical staff and maintenance personnel require a variety of illuminance levels. Lighting must, therefore, be flexible and adaptable. Light sources and luminaires in healthcare facilities must often meet specific requirements for user safety and protection, specific locations and functions. Since hospitals typically contain vast numbers of somewhat identical rooms, corridors and waiting areas, the lighting must help create a means of finding one’s way around. And, a large percentage of the hospital population, both patients and staff, may be seniors, so lighting design must accommodate the “aging eye”. All these factors present challenges to the lighting designer.

Lighting in a healthcare facility should compensate for the fact that many of the patients may have limitations in mobility and vision. Any improvements in illumination will aid in navigating the facility and reduce the possibility of accidents. Some of the visual factors to consider are: direct glare, reflected glare, harsh shadows and poorly lit visual cues to hazards. Even visual fatigue can be a factor; the delay in adapting one’s eyes from dark to brightly lit areas and vice versa.

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