The Importance of Lighting in a Medical Facility

Updated on October 29, 2020

Spending time in medical facilities is never fun. It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you are, and what you’re in for – getting home as soon as possible is every patient’s top priority. This is true even for the best and most modern medical facilities, but these places at least provide their patients with a sense of comfort and coziness that’s crucial in their healing process. One of the ways to make sure that happens in your facility as well is focusing on the lighting because there’s nothing more beneficial to your patients than lots of natural light and a perfectly positioned lighting setup. Here’s why lighting is so crucial and what you can do about it.

Lots of natural light and fresh air

These are two of the most important things for any patient – lots and lots of fresh air and natural sunlight can help even the most terminal patients feel at least a little bit better. That’s why providing your facility with huge windows that let in a ton of natural light and fresh air every single day should be the first thing on your mind.

According to a 2006 study, appropriate exposure to sunlight is “critical for health and well-being of patients” and that’s the effect you need to focus on the most. If your facility is full of small and impractical windows, consider renovating it and investing some money into new windows in every patient room you have. The same goes for your reception, canteen, and other areas your patients visit, and you’ll start seeing positive changes very soon after you provide them with more natural sunlight.

Helping your staff do their job

Whatever sort of medical facility you’re running, you probably have tons of employees who are trying to do their best and help their patients get better as soon as possible. To do that, they need to work in properly illuminated areas that feature lighting setups that help them to do more easily and effectively. 

When it comes to providing them with such a lighting setup, you have to consider their needs as well. Talk to your staff, ask them what they think about the lighting in your facility, encourage them to give you suggestions on how to improve it, and tell them to be open about it. They might be needing something you’re unaware of, so try to make them happy as much as you can.

Think about common areas too

Even though we focus on patients’ rooms, operating rooms, laboratories, and other specialized areas the most when spicing up the lighting in our medical facilities, you shouldn’t forget about common areas as well. Waiting rooms, lobbies, hallways, canteens, receptions, TV rooms, and other similar spaces are very important as well because this is where your patients and their visitors spend their time whenever they’re not in their rooms or being examined.

That’s why these areas need proper attention and should be properly illuminated as well. And the only way to do that is by finding lighting solutions that were designed and developed by professionals. Those versatile BUCK’s products for hospitals and medical facilities, for instance, could be the right choice for your facility too because they cover a wide range of needs and use the latest technology to make sure every inch of your facility is illuminated perfectly.

Find adequate solutions for certain areas

Finally, there’s another thing you need to think about – not every lighting setup will work well in every corner of your medical facility. There are huge differences between different areas and each of them needs its unique lighting solution. 

Some areas need to be shiny and full of light, while others need to be subtle because that’s what the patients need. Also, you should stick to LED lighting wherever you can because this is a more natural and energy-efficient alternative that can change their entire visual appeal of your facility. This has already happened in hospitals around the world – for example, there’s one in Tampa that uses LED lighting wherever possible – so think about making that move as well.

Proper lighting is very important for everyone in your medical facility, so if you want to make a difference in your patients’ and employees’ daily lives, invest some time and money into your lighting right now.

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.