Transforming Rehab Facilities: How Thoughtful Interior Design Enhances Wayfinding and Patient Experience
Thousands of feet of corridor at a rehabilitation facility can make staff, patients and their families feel easily confused, lost and even add to their stress. Interior design plays a crucial role in wayfinding and place-making within any building, but it can significantly impact the overall patient experience and positively impact efficiency of care in a rehabilitation or other medical space.
Effective wayfinding design can help reduce stress and anxiety for patients and visitors by providing clear, intuitive navigation using color coding, signage and spatial layout. This ensures that individuals can easily find their way to treatment areas, patient rooms and offices, enhancing safety and promoting a sense of comfort and independence.
For Palomar Health’s The Villas at Poway, FS Design Group is refreshing more than 15,000 square feet of uniform hallways into welcoming corridors that incorporate eye-pleasing interior design and effective wayfinding.
The Villas provide long-term care for people recovering from trauma or illness or those in respite or hospice care. Patients use the multiple corridors to navigate through the 129-bed facility that surrounds an inner, open patio area. Lots of natural light from windows makes many of the common rooms and the patient rooms feel bright and open, but the enclosed corridor did not enjoy the same warmth.
To make The Villa’s maze of corridors more pleasant and user-friendly, FS Design Group used differing floor patterns in front of doors and nursing stations. The variety of configurations not only breaks up the space, making it feel less voluminous, but also helps people find their destinations and be aware of possible foot, wheelchair or gurney traffic ahead.
Because The Villas are open and serving patients in need during the design upgrade, it was critical for the contractors to adhere to a schedule that only has small portions of the corridor inaccessible for short periods of time. It was important to everyone not to disrupt patient care or access to rooms and services.
In addition, FS Design Group incorporated signage and bulletin boards into the flow of the corridors to support staff, patient and family communication. We did this while keeping with our design themes so that these features fit in visually while also serving their purpose to communicate important information to patients, visitors and staff.
Thoughtful interior design can contribute to a more welcoming and therapeutic environment, supporting the overall healing process. FS Design Group’s interior designers are passionate about using our skills, talent and vision to contribute to healing and well-being.
