The Benefits of Living Walls in Healthcare
Bethesda North TriHealth Cancer Center, Cincinnati, OH - Designed, Installed, and Maintained by Urban Blooms in partnership with GBBN Architects
Healthcare systems have been evolving over the past 20 years, you will find a growing trend of hospitals, doctor's offices, and other facilities incorporating plant life into their structures and interior design. Living walls and plant features have been slowly popping up across the US in various healthcare settings, but why?
Health benefits that Transform Experience
Urban Blooms has a unique understanding of the mental and physical benefits that living walls have for patients and healthcare workers alike. When determining whether to incorporate living walls into new or preexisting structures, consider how the effects of nature contribute to your healthcare facility’s goals:
Stress Reduction: Incorporating living walls and other forms of nature can provide a comforting, secure setting for patients and staff alike.
Air Quality: Plants are known to filter out dust and other air pollutants that can cause respiratory issues, and discomfort for people occupying the area.
Increased Productivity: When nature is incorporated into workplaces, productivity, creativity, and a sense of community have been found to grow and improve.
Elevation of Overall Experience: Living walls create a soothing environment that provides balance and focal interest to healthcare facilities, creating enjoyment for patients, visitors, and staff alike.
Case Studies
The ability to create mentally and physically beneficial areas for people in stressful environments can be accomplished through nature based design. While the known healing benefits of plants is no new trend, various case studies have been able to highlight how incorporating nature into healthcare settings has positively impacted both patients and staff.
In 1984, Rodger Urlich conducted a case study in which he took patients recently recovering from surgery, and divided them into two groups. Group A had access to views of nature from their hospital room, while group B did not. What was found was that Group A had fewer post-surgery complications, faster recovery times, a more positive attitude towards the overall experience, and was prescribed less powerful painkillers post-surgery.
Fast-forward to 2011, Annerstedt and Wahrborg reviewed over 100 healthcare studies that looked at the effects experienced both by staff and patients exposed to nature in healthcare settings. The trend found when observing the studies showed that staff experienced higher performance, increased employee satisfaction, and improved retention rates. On the flip side, patients received benefits that included reduced stress levels, lower blood pressure, increased pain relief, and improved recovery time.
TriHealth Baldwin Tower, Cincinnati, OH. - Designed by Urban Blooms
Sterile Design
Urban Blooms past projects have been successful in implementing and designing a product and service that is compatible with the individual needs of healthcare institutions. We have developed and tested inorganic growing material specifically to adapt to healthcare environments. This was done in order to prevent non-sterile environments that can occur with the use of organic growing mediums. Our extensive maintenance and monitoring that is provided will assure stability and prosperity of the living wall. Big or small, Urban Blooms highly adaptable designs and services provide a variety of living wall solutions. The ability to customize all aspects of our services ensures healthcare facilities a safe and beautiful finished result. To learn more about the design process and outcome of our recent healthcare project at Tri-Health’s Bethesda North Cancer Center click here.
The complex nature of healthcare environments requires innovation, consideration, and expertise. Urban Blooms is proud to be able to bring living walls to places and people that can benefit from the effects of nature the most. For more information please feel free to contact our team!