Incorporating sustainable design methods and other best practices into healthcare environments seems natural, but administrators and staff may have a difficult time sorting through the dizzying variety of strategies, products, and technologies available. The Green Patient Room, the first healthcare exhibit of its kind, aims to shorten the learning curve by demonstrating how sustainable design can improve patient care, increase efficiency, and reduce the anxiety of medical staff, patients, and families. Already featured at a number of conferences and expositions in the United States since its debut in 2007, the exhibit continues to travel across North America.

Developed by the architectural firm Anshen+Allen in conjunction with the International Facility Management Association's Health Care Council and participating vendors including the construction giant Skanska, the 400-sq.-ft. Green Patient Room displays materials and technologies that are economically viable, readily available, and appropriate for use in intensive healthcare settings. Placards throughout describe the design decisions and the benefits of each. Many strategies draw on the principles of evidence-based design, reflecting research into the ways that healthcare architecture and interior design can improve medical outcomes, financial performance, and consumer satisfaction. Visitors to the exhibit have the opportunity to give feedback by filling out a survey.

The room is organized into three zones: patient, family, and staff. Each area is meant to improve patient care by increasing comfort and minimizing disorder and stress. The patient zone, which includes the bathroom and much of the bedroom, is designed to give patients as much control over their environment as possible. Potentially intimidating medical equipment is discreetly located on one side of the bed, easily accessible to medical staff yet out of sight of patients and their families.

The family zone is designed to encourage family stays, in response to studies showing that families who visit frequently and stay longer are more involved in patient care, helping to improve patient well-being and facilitate healing. Reminiscent of a living room, this family space includes a sleeper sofa, television, desktop space, and other amenities.

The staff zone is organized to accommodate staff workflow and offer better access to equipment by reducing clutter and improving lighting, thereby helping minimize injury and medical error. A dedicated work area provides electronic charting, a hand-washing sink, and desk space.

Perhaps the most unusual element is the terrace, with its outdoor seating area, coffee table, and plants. A terrace may be difficult to incorporate in many healthcare settings, because of regulations, safety, buildings codes, and conventional construction practices, but it illustrates the benefits of connecting patients to the outdoors. Studies show that patients with views to nature heal more swiftly than those in conventional rooms. The Green Patient Room design promotes that concept by implying that the actual experience of being outdoors in pleasant surroundings will enhance healing even more. The low-wall displacement ventilation system is also uncommon in the United States, but reduces energy use and improves indoor air quality.

The Green Patient Room takes practical, cost-effective steps to reduce resource consumption while improving patient health. Low-flow rate laminar flow faucets, showerheads, and toilets minimize water consumption. High-performance lighting, glass, and insulation systems, along with extensive use of natural lighting, cut energy costs. Non-toxic materials low in VOC emissions are used throughout to improve air quality and speed patient recovery.

The designers chose products and finishes based on their sustainability and quality, then approached vendors and asked if they would be willing to donate the products to the project; all said yes. All of the major concepts in the room have been incorporated into previous healthcare projects; the exhibit presents a compendium of best practices intended to put the spotlight on the variety of sustainable options available for healthcare designers and administrators to consider.

Someday, sustainably designed patient rooms will be commonplace. Achieving this goal will require a change in thinking. "Too often, the only metrics considered in building and renovating healthcare facilities are hard construction costs," says Mike Stack, project coordinator for Anshen+Allen and one of the designers of the Green Patient Room exhibit."Yet the higher initial costs that green solutions sometimes require are significantly outweighed by the cost savings realized by better patient outcomes, improved staff efficiencies and retention, and reduced consumption of resources."The Green Patient Room aims to show that healthcare environments can be sensitive to the needs of the patient, staff, family, and the institution—as well as the environment. Most importantly, this exhibit shows their interdependence.

Suzanne Drake is a senior associate at Anshen+Allen in San Francisco.