Healthcare facilities promoting wellness from the inside out

The healthcare industry is in the midst of a shift to a wellness model of care, and the built environment plays an important role in that. This is driving new design elements in healthcare facilities—from the inside out.

There is a move toward healthier building materials that are low-maintenance and nontoxic. Many facilities are focusing on the human touch and improving the patient experience with soothing colors, decorative finishes and natural lighting.

The recently completed Maple Grove Hospital in Wausau, Wis., boosts the patient experience through creative use of color with canopies, columns and architectural panels.

“The hospital is located in a grove of trees,” said Jim Davy, principal of BWBR Architects, St. Paul, Minn. “We chose the copper color to pick up the color of the leaves changing over time. Copper communicates transitions—from the new copper color to a patina.”

Valspar matched the finish on different shades of pennies in the Fluropon Classic II mica coating, which is symbolic of patient health.

“This also helps represent the transition in healthcare and in getting better,” said Davy. “The metallic color also offers a brightness and life when the sun hits it.”

The color motif complements neighboring buildings, ties in well with the window system and continues on the interior of the building. The hospital was designed using the Green Guide to Health Care and contains numerous energy-saving innovations, helping to cut costs while promoting patient wellness.