Denver — Hospital buildings can heal according to a report by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) produced in partnership with the Center for Health Design. It is the first comprehensive report to look at the impact of the physical environment on child patients in healthcare settings.

Based on a scientific review of 320 evidence-based design studies in the academic literature that apply to the field of pediatrics, the report concludes that the physical environment of healthcare settings affects the clinical, physiological, psychosocial and safety outcomes among child patients and families.

According to the report, minimizing or eliminating the harmful effects of such environmental factors as loud noise, high light levels and infectious pathogens should be the goal of children’s hospitals and other types of hospitals providing pediatric services. In particular, the neonatal intensive care unit has been the focus of many interventions proven effective in improving infant health outcomes. The report prioritizes top design recommendations and breaks them out by those that can be implemented at any time at low cost and those that can be implemented during renovation or new construction at moderate to high cost.

Visit www.childrenshospitals.net for more information and to purchase the study.