How Hospital Design Is Actually Making Us Sicker - Cheddar Explains

[@cmdr1911]

The ER should be set up different than ICU. ER should be brutally efficient, comfort not much of a concern since most paitients don't stay there long. ICU should more comfortable while maintaining high efficiency. Give them views and private rooms while keeping staff and equipment close. Recovery/Maternity and other specialty floors/rooms should maintain function but be comfortable for the patient and family. Different wings need to be built differently.

[@cmdr1911]

@@C4pt41nN3m0 I completely agree. I would even say long term care should be out of the hospital completely. That would allow a more normal life for patients, limit illness spread, allow for better visitation and possibly limit burn out of the staff.

[@jaybey3921]

Facts

[@yeetghostrat]

Don't stay long in the ER? Pfft, either you're not American, or you have good insurance.

[@Musical_Pigeon]

The ER at the hospital in my college's city gives everyone their own room and privacy. It's nice to now have people right by you but also feels super isolating. Last time I was there (dehydration from a stomach bug) I was set in a room by myself and sat on my phone while the IV and stomach setting meds were going into me.

[@cmdr1911]

@@Musical_Pigeon It is far from a good time. The local hospital has private rooms, but no windows and they draw the shades to the hallway when you are there. It gets pretty bad by yourself and that why before covid it was easy to visit. They as try to transfer to the ICU or to another larger hospital in the network.

[@MrAronymous]

When US transit stations, hospitals, high schools and prisons interiors are near indistuinguishable from one another you know something's up.

[@ScienceAlliance]

copy past cheapo moment

[@chrisl218569]

They all make you sick too

[@Frozo-nt2ky]

Lol what none of them look the same

[@ScienceAlliance]

It’s just all concrete, plaster, some cheap flooring and ceilings, at least in certain parts of the rust belt

[@SqueamishNerd]

In Sweden those do tend to look roughly the same too, but that's because our prisons look quite welcoming.

[@o0Avalon0o]

The problem is, many hospitals are being run like a business, not a place of healing. Short term gains are prioritized over long term benefits. It's hurting our patients, workers, & communities.

[@ScienceAlliance]

ikr

[@_sumina]

Its because it's the pharmaceutical company, there is no interest in bettering people there's only interest in making big bucks. so yes, of course everything they do will make us sicker including the pills, they need you to keep coming for more money:)

[@jingleball2427]

We need Medicare for all but our politicians and media are so corrupt.

[@guttenaug947]

I have seen people stay longer in the hospital solely because their insurance was good. Hospitals are business and a corporation. Run by Insurance companies.

[@Ali-yu7qz]

@@_sumina The pharmaceutical companies in America are like this because the whole concept of private medicine means that insurance companies will pay for whatever the medication costs. They raise prices because they can get away with it. The answer is public healthcare.

[@justclassicglam]

One time, I went to the Emergency Room because my kidneys were hurting really bad. Took less than 5 minutes, they gave me a shot of antibiotic and sent me home.. I got a bill in the mail for 2000 dollars for a single shot of antibiotic, our healthcare system is seriously fucked up.

[@crazy808ish]

What does that have to do with the video? If it took less than 5 minutes then that's not enough time to have been significantly affected by the layout or construction of the hospital..... Which is the entire point of this video.

[@kateapple1]

Yeah I just don’t pay it 😂😂😂 they literally never come after you

[@reishez1372]

@@kateapple1 umm what. This can seriously affect your credit and the debt collectors can sue you. These bills don’t go away magically.

[@lisaroy9538]

Be glad you could get care quickly. I am sure it was much longer than that....labs, urine spec, Provider time

[@hood5533]

His kidney fucked him up.

[@emperorpalpatine8120]

I work at a large university hospital that consists of an old part and a new part. The old part is outdated and institutional feeling. Rooms look dirty and many are not private. Then there is the new part, which looks like a 5-star hotel. Rooms are all private, lots of natural lighting, floors are wooden, marble desktops, each room has a very large window with a nice view, etc.

[@ChristopherNFP]

Seems like the perfect place to do longitudinal double blind experiments on comparative patient outcomes.

[@emperorpalpatine8120]

@@ChristopherNFP Worth mentioning - all the ICU units are in the new part. Plus the inpatient cancer unit. The old part houses a transitional care unit, the hospice (which is leased to an outside company), labor & delivery, and the pediatric unit.

[@azndude508]

I worked an administrative back-end job at such large city university hospital you describe. My office was small in the old part and had no windows. It was often hard to know what time of day it was since the only light was steady florescent. On stormy days, I always thought the hospital looked like an insane asylum from the outside.

[@TheModernVIkingNor]

I work in a hospital. Every patient (that is not like leaving later that day/or is there only temporary, like wake up rooms) have private rooms whit windows. All nurse stations are desentralised. Even the ER has private rooms.

[@Green__one]

It's very location dependent. I work in a role where I'm in many hospitals constantly. The most up to date ones have mostly private rooms, (though some exceptions are being made during the pandemic and cramming more people into the same space). But a hospital around here doesn't have to be more than a couple decades old before you find lots of rooms with 2 patients in them "semi-private", and we have one hospital here built about 35 years ago where the emergency department has several areas which are effectively 20+ patients in one room with just curtain dividers (on the bright side, construction is already under way on a complete replacement for that whole department).

[@lindatisue733]

Private rooms are rare in Sweden, many rooms have four patients. Ten years ago the nurses were not consistent about washing their hands between patients. I was a patient for two weeks at Stockholm's largest hospital. Broke my ankle and tibia, had a much better outcome than with a broken arm in the US. I only had to pay about $150 for the whole year after.

[@SunsetBlvd13]

I’ve had a private room before. I have no idea why as I went in for post lumbar puncture headaches, but boy did I appreciate it.

[@gothnate]

They're not going to change anything for the majority of hospitals. It costs too much, and the people that own the hospitals are in it for the money.

[@gidd]

It is a business...not charity so ofcourse they're in it for the money

[@gothnate]

@@gidd And what happens when patients don't have money? They often go bankrupt trying to pay medical bills. If there are two things in this world that shouldn't be for profit, it's medical care and prisons.

[@tannhauserr]

Just another human trying to get what they want without collaborating anything. If you care for healthcare, volunteer for your local red cross. At least in my country you can volunteer at any time and age because it's mandatory for every government-funded school to have red cross as one of the after school program

[@wombatdk]

@@gothnate No money, no healthcare. Simple as that.

[@narsimhas1360]

@@gothnate even if the hospitals were government owned, this would've still been a problem. The only way to change things is to spread awareness in both systems. If the public at large didn't know this was a problem, then the government would rather spend money on something that would generate more goodwill in order to get elected again.

[@GH-oi2jf]

I spent weeks in hospital and I hated shared rooms. I wanted peace and quiet, but roommates wanted their television on all the time, or had visitors who never stopped talking. My good luck, though, I mostl often had a separate room.

[@itsjacob7239]

Close the curtain then

[@schrodingerskatze4308]

@@itsjacob7239 What curtain? And how does it stop the sound?

[@itsjacob7239]

@@schrodingerskatze4308 Every patient bed has a curtain they can use when they want privacy. It won't stop noise though, most patients in hospitsl are usually cosndierate of others.

[@lampyrisnoctiluca9904]

When I was hit by a car and with broken scull, I had a bed right next to the tv in the shared room. Other kids wanted to watch it on high volume, while I just wanted to be somewhere quiet. I would close my eyes, turn away from the tv with the pillow on my head so I would not hear it so well. One mean nurse complained about it a lot. Mom asked why are there no separate rooms for those who needed peace and quiet. We put them where there is an empty bed was the answer. argh..

[@l.m.1393]

Have a can of suck it up

[@Mr1159pm]

23 patient study seems incredibly small to draw conclusions with any confidence

[@TheKamrenB]

1:38 that's not a hospital at all... That's Kings Cross railway station in London

[@6i6itjeruk]

Yea..

[@Eunhyukkie1]

wtf why they do that xD

[@aperson5994]

Ha lol. Good spot

[@geradosolusyon511]

Makes you wonder doesn't it?

[@dragonstormer115]

Me: *bleeding to death* nurses: * put me in a nice room with view of the sea* My blood: "Understandable, have a nice day"

[@paxundpeace9970]

Stress reduction is important to calm high blood pressure not low blood pressure

[@JurisPenaflor]

@@paxundpeace9970 yes it is important bugif you have really low bp it would be hard to keep yourself awake. you need to prioritize what can save more patients

[@jonasarnesen6825]

@@paxundpeace9970 an other way to reduce high blood pressure is to splatter all your blood around.

[@danielsavitz5774]

I just spat out my coffee and ruined my good shirt. Thanks a lot.

[@jonathanprime1507]

Emotions affects your health a lot

[@KatharineOsborne]

I’m annoyed that there’s a random picture of King’s Cross rail station in London in the early hospital montage. Come on researchers.

[@gyurto]

I first thought that they would transition from them and start explaining how railways stations inspired hospitals.

[@ap9970]

Its standard for US made videos, the one about container ships and the need to dredge harbours used footage of the repairing of the sea defences of Southsea seafront.

[@JohnSmith-cx8co]

Yeah, I noticed that too, WTF. Might as well be a picture of the statue of Liberty

[@benarchie6024]

when?

[@gyurto]

@@benarchie6024 1:37

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

My wife has a medical procedure next week that will have her at the hospital overnight. I'll make sure she *doesn't* watch this video beforehand...

[@ginnyjollykidd]

I had to have a fairly clear colon before every surgery I had, and I always wanted something to eat and drink afterwards. I recommend making sure your loved one having surgery have something to eat and drink ready for straight afterwards.

[@epowell4211]

hope the surgery went well and she is recovering nicely! :D

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

@@epowell4211 Thank you, yes, she is!

[@Pschokid]

I'm glad the hospitals I've been to in Sweden doesn't look like thoes bad examples you showed

[@Hurricane2k8]

Same in Germany, all hospitals I've seen looked nothing like this layout, with the sole exception being one small ICU, but even there every room had a large window.

[@cmdr1911]

The only rooms like the one shown I have been in the in the US are the ER which is typically used to triage and stabilize. Usually injuries for me, once evauled either discharged or moved to another wing. That wing typically has rooms with a large window, bathroom, couch a few chairs and a TV.

[@Matous_]

right?! Ive never seen a room without a window for patients in Europe.

[@firstsoldier4257]

none of you guys in hospital or icu .....in switzerland I can say better than usa but noise and lights is was problem you can't sleep... and you share with another person thats make a problem too so you guys liar !

[@cmdr1911]

@@firstsoldier4257 My experimce comes from various injuries to myself, my wife in the maternity ward and my mom through a stroke. She spent 2 months in the hospital trying to figure out what happened and assess the damage.

[@ReevansElectro]

The absolute worst feature of "modern" hospitals is the NURSING STATIONS. By putting computers and charts there, it focuses nurse attention on computers and socializing in a semi private space. It is possible for nurses to carry iPads for charting and create chart entries in the same room as the patients with the patient involved in that process. There would be no need for nursing stations and the nurses would be forced to actually go into patient rooms and observe and communicate with them.

[@jedregacho2641]

You actually don't know anything about the Nursing profession.

[@buckyhermit]

I work in the accessibility field, working to make places more accessible to people with disabilities. It's amazing how much overlap there is with this topic. Numerous studies have shown repeatedly that prioritizing accessibility tends to save money in the long run and have lasting benefits to the building occupants (including safety). But like with hospitals, owners didn't want to invest in this and architects can't be bothered to adapt. That's a huge reason why accessibility is still a problem today, even in countries like the US where accessibility laws (ADA) are in place.

[@rickytorres9089]

I know right? Being deaf and blind as well as developmentally disabled. I face this regularly even in online spaces where accommodations are more time heavy than money driven (e.g. like a online forum place in direct refusal to provide me direct meeting transcripts).

[@rickytorres9089]

@Therese A. Judith Izzo-Davis More precisely that entirely or the latter matters. Which is ironic really because to BE productive you NEED to be desrive. If you are NOT then that is not being productive from the get go. There's a reason why the fittest survives and the rest dies. In this sense meaning the people who cares to stand up for others and so on. Instead of the sense of "the richest person" or what have you.

[@pluspiping]

As an architecture student, the derisive way many architects (and students) talk about ADA is shameful. Accessible design and evidence-based design should be treasured approaches. Instead, they're bitter that their ego projects get 'downgraded' in order to just meet code. It's not all of them, but it's pervasive and it's toxic.

[@buckyhermit]

@@pluspiping Yup, I agree. We don't have the ADA here but there's a similar problem with architects. I've worked with a few who were basically forced to work with me because of the client's request of looping in an accessibility consultant. And even so, trying to put in recommendations is like swimming through cement. There is pushback for almost every recommendation no matter how small or common sense. Basically I often feel like I'm the barrier standing in the way of their job. This is why I don't tend to like working with architects.

[@unemilifleur]

Having natural light decreases the risk of delirium. I learned that in University, and it is known in ICU. Where I live, for the rooms that don’t have a window, they have lights behind a curtain that mimics natural light.

[@arianak9402]

Whenever I go to the emergency room , I am always so worried about catching something because you have to sit there for hours most times .

[@KalaDesignCo-pf4js]

Check out our modern hospital design : kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3O0lZ9_rbSCnNU&ab_channel=KalaDesignCo.

[@wetrucken1689]

Today's hospitals are all about efficiency and money I can't wait when I live in the world where we don't have to wear the money rolling all anymore

[@NOLZWINS]

As someone who literally designs hospitals for a living right now, I cannot say you're wrong.

[@albertozorzi1876]

Wow, a study over 23 patients. Statistical significance over the roof

[@PaulHo]

Window is subjective, I had to stay 2 months luckily in isolation, and my view was a dumpster. I imagined them throwing away babies or other waste, and that was my next step.

[@rickytorres9089]

I know right? Nothing like nightmare fuel I am right? :( Sure it's not a hotel but come on they shouldn't at least made the dumpster area more appropriate to say the least. So it doesn't looks like grossness and such.

[@catalindeluxus8545]

I'd argue they should've used the dumpster view room as a storage/warehouse, and another side with decent views as a private room

[@americanbobtail1]

Are you from the Midwest? The reason I ask is that is definitely "old school" Midwest humor.

[@PaulHo]

@@americanbobtail1 Southern California *gasp*

[@Rigiroony]

Don't worry my dude. Biowaste is store within the building. This prevents anything from being exposed to the environment before sanitized. There's no dead babies in a hospital dumpster. Though I can't say there isn't some on the designated biowaste storage floor.

[@Martinspire]

As somebody who cooperated with the research center of a major medical supplier I can tell this isn't very good. It moves from topic to topic without looking at the details. Sure there are less mistakes when people lay alone but when in a room with multiple people when somebody escalates others in the room are able to call out. And those single rooms are also more expensive as you can't share resources as easily. When it comes to light and nature it doesn't really matter if its real or not. The person just has to believe that it is. A skylight on the ceiling pretending to be the sun, is enough to settle his mind. Sounds from nature can be enough without seeing the actual birds. It doesn't need massive renovations. And while certain developments work counter intuitive on certain parts (indicated by money like 3.6 billion) it also helps in other areas so you can't just claim black and white that it costs 3.6 billion and x amount of lives. Somebody likes to heal alone while another needs companionship. When doctors do many operations each day of the same type where patients are only in the hospital for a few hours, it doesn't really matter whether they have outside light or not. The result is that the inner sides of the hospital can be filled with these kinds of patients while long term patients could go outside. But all modern hospitals have lots of wings and are small so everybody can sit near the light. The spread of infections isn't just down to people being near, its also because the viruses get more resistant and that air circulation is expensive and complex. There might be people dying due to the design of hospitals, but overall they save more than that and its a non-issue to think that we must take major action to redesign everything for how many people we're losing. Sure it isn't nothing, but lets not overreact.

[@RoyCyberPunk]

But most hospitals don't even have skylights let alone windows specially on emergency rooms. And you are correct natural ambient light and even sounds can be simulated where it isn't possible to place either skylights or windows. A good and economic flatscreen monitor on the wall behind the patient can easily recreate that effect it can even simulate rain if the patient chooses. I don't think anyone is suggesting that current buildings are expensively remodeled so everyone has access to either actual skylights or windows or both and now technology can artificialy recreate this things where is not possible to provide the real thing.

[@theMoporter]

Thank you for your input, but I disagree that it isn't worth talking about. If fake birdsong or skylights make people happier, why not install them? They're cheap and improve QOL.

[@yeetghostrat]

When I was hospitalized after a very severe head injury, as a child, I was put with a nonverbal autistic girl, who would scream and scream and scream all day and all night, for an entire week. And she had dozens of people coming in to visit her every day, who were loud and inconsiderate. At the very least, we need planned out roommates. Because I have multiple other bad experiences with being put with other people, I was hospitalized a lot as a kid. According to research, changes are needed.

[@rickytorres9089]

@@theMoporter Exactly and private rooms are still important if it isn't a quick "get up in 15 minutes recovery room" post surgery center.

[@rickytorres9089]

I disagrees, I was hospitalized often and often times in the "semi private" setups and man it always was so annoying. We don't just wants single rooms but we often NEEDS them for recovery purposes (sleep or even to attempt to relaxes our mind while we can while we eat and such).

[@stereoroid]

I had heart surgery at a private hospital here in Ireland a few months ago. The hospital design was actually good, close to what you described as ideal. The ward took up a whole square floor in a building, all rooms private with a window, and two nursing stations.

[@AntTonyLOLKID]

Our hospitals seem so dull... but when you look in kdramas, they have VIP rooms where there is even a dining table inside.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Deulama hospitals may seem cliché in the world of KDRAMA, but they are indeed inspired by actual South Korean hospitals.

[@CarstenHazz]

It's called vip room, presidential suite, king suite, etc. Every big hospital has that room.

[@yucol5661]

Profit means that you have to make the nice rooms available, but for a price

[@Melissa0774]

One thing I've never understood is why in shared rooms, they usually put the beds perpendicular to the door. And usually the bathroom is on one end, at the back or the front. It's so inefficient and annoying because one patient always has to walk in front of the other to get to the door or the bathroom. Or visitors for the patient by the window, have to walk in front of the person closer to the door. You can't tell me that doesn't increase the risk of infection. Most new hospitals are going for private rooms now, but if they don't, then I'd love to see them at least redesign the double rooms, so that both beds face the hallway with the door and the bathroom, and the window, in the middle so that both room mates get equal access to the window and no one has to walk in front of each other and invade each other's space. I've been told that the rooms are designed the way they are because both beds need to be up against the inner wall where the oxygen is hooked up, but I think there's got to be ways around that.

[@shanekeenaNYC]

Or give the patient ample choices for boarding or even do a flex system. Each patient can either have their own private room, a double-wide with a roommate or a small group of patients, or even the choice of being located in the massive hospital halls. I would also design with generousity, so if projected requirements for example will increase between 50 and 100 patients in the next 5 years, then design for the 100 patients, even if a couple floors go empty for a number of years after the initial projection period has lapsed. Some docs may even use those floors for their own retreats away from the hubbub of the hospital.

[@Melissa0774]

@@shanekeenaNYC That'd be to expensive. Plus they want to do all private rooms now because of germs. Who would choose to have room mates if they don't have to? The only reason hospitals ever built multi person rooms was for their own practical purposes that had nothing to do with what was best for the patient.

[@shanekeenaNYC]

@@Melissa0774 What if a patient recovers best when they have a couple people in the same situation around them? Patients are ultimately people, and we are all social beings who crave interaction and some people find much less pressure by being with other people, and indeed feel some amount of physical relief by just having someone around them. Like Lex Luthor said, Mind over Muscle. I will be absolutely clear in that I personally would prefer a private room, but I will not, and will never feel comfortable getting in the way of others who prefer something different.

[@Melissa0774]

@@shanekeenaNYC I've been in hospitals lots of times, many of them with several room mates. Believe me, you don't want to have random strangers sleeping next to you, when you're both going through a traumatic illness. At best, you get in each other's way and spread germs and at worst, you get sucked into all their unnecessary drama with their family and their medical condition, that shouldn't be any of your business. I had to be stuck with a woman who waiting for a liver transplant and she'd cry every night and ask her doctors every day when she was going to die. And her kids were all a bunch of jerks. I had my own problems. I didn't need to be exposed to that. I would think anyone who actually wants a room mate in the hospital, is kind of weird. On the plus side, though, it can be good to have a room mate for safety reasons. Sometimes you might have to call the nurse for them, or visa versa, if they become incapacitated, which does happen. Or you may help each other in other ways like, for example, when I helped my room mate find her phone by calling it after she dropped it. But I think they need to do private rooms and the nurses just need to do a better job of watching people. Maye they need to hire more nurses and stop expecting room mates to do some of their job.

[@Designotherwise]

The more i learn about the way things around me work, the more I’m convinced that we have consistently made things without thinking them through. Every time it’s one idea and we just go with it without checking it’s impacts.

[@JohnAdams-mu7xd]

Either that or it's deliberate, like there's a sick group of people on this planet that get off on the misery of others.....

[@MortAllachie]

So happy to live in Norway where health care is free and all rooms have windows 🤩

[@xamanbro826]

*tax subsidized

[@jonathanprime1507]

Or you could just be healthy

[@lisaroy9538]

No care is free...

[@undulaten7446]

@@lisaroy9538 Here, have some more dots.............

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

Random sidenote: the building shown at 1:40 is King's Cross Station in London. Not quite sure what that has to do with hospitals...

[@BassBanj0]

I love how they show Kings Cross station at 1:41 while talking about hospitals

[@incognitofelon]

I think they showed that as an introductory example of changing architectural industrial design.

[@ProductBasement]

"Private rooms can be isolating"?? I sure as heck _want_ to be isolated when my doctor or nurse is sharing confidential medical information with me, especially if it's bad news! Even when I'm lying there all by myself, I want as few people as possible to see me in such a vulnerable, humiliating state

[@lucymitchell3045]

The typical standard to the UK seems to be a ward consisting of two 6 bed bays with windows that are opposite the nursing station with 2 or 3 private rooms to the sides. Being the NHS the private rooms are typically allocated due to the needs of the patient (NOT a privilege you pay for!) So for example an elderly confused patient with a fracture would be in the bay because it is easier for staff to monitor them to reduce falls. But patients with infections would be placed in a private room to avoid spread of infection. While not perfect this seems to add flexibility to the care.

[@HibikiKano]

Bad design killed one of my loved ones. Even years after you still wake up with thoughts of that fact and self blame for bringing them to the hospital instead of trying to treat it at home.

[@mojave7604]

When I was in the hospital getting chemo the first week I was in an isolated room with my own restroom. The second week I was in an isolated room with a Jack and Jill restroom. I asked to be moved to a room with my own restroom but they told me there were none available. I contracted C. Diff. Colitis from the other person and ended up spending 3 extra weeks in the hospital in the worst pain I've ever been in and required multiple infusions.

[@alaric_]

Soo, my hometown i just finishing a massive hospital, price tag is around 0.5 billion euros. The amount of windows.. Man there are thousands of windows. Insane number of rooms in 10 wings joined by central structure. Awhile ago i talked to nurse who has been there ans she said that the downside on new and spacious hospital is that the distances are ... Well the nurses are going to get their daily excercise and then some! :D Oh, and the best part is that the price of care is still the same compared to the old hospital as it's built by tax payers money. You know, scandinavia and all that. So, care is very cheap. Compared to US it's free. Back surgery: around 100-200€. Total, with ambulance included.

[@cyborgchimpy]

shhhh. Americans will start worrying how the hospitals "make money" 😂 nah i'm serious. I am from Holland and I discussed this topic with some Americans, and they acted like the idea would destroy their economy. couldnt wrap their heads around that things such as hospitals and schools arent supposed to MAKE money.

[@Green__one]

@@cyborgchimpy I talked to a flight crew from the US returning a patient to a Canadian hospital. They were horrified that the patient was going to have to pay a rental fee of $5 per day if they wanted to use the TV in the room saying how that would be included in a US hospital. I just laughed and pointed out that it was the ONLY money that patient was going to have to pay in that hospital, and it was optional. (To be clear, that one hospital seems to be an anomaly, the TV rental fee seems to have vanished from most hospitals around here, though it once was common, and the Wi-Fi is free, so you can watch netflix to your heart's content) Americans are convinced of the superiority of their system, just don't let facts get in the way.

[@rickytorres9089]

@@Green__one Unless it included premium TV or something then I heavily disagrees with this seeing as the TV was already installed and such. In hotels except for the "mini bar" if there is one, if it there it's reasonably assumed it's free to use. Such as existing TV set(s), microwave, fridge and such. Now if they say it's $5/day for the fridge and it's not in my room then that's a fair game. Same for an additional bed rental and such.

[@TheMoonIsAConspiracyTheory]

@@Green__one My grandmother slept on a bed in the hallway of a Canadian hospital. She wasn't the only one sleeping in the hallway, as there were no rooms for them. This was in 2017 and in the GTA. Otherwise, wait-times for MRIs are non-existent in the US while the earliest I could get here in Canada was 2½ months. So they do have some advantages.

[@Green__one]

@@TheMoonIsAConspiracyTheory I am in Canadian hospitals every single day as part of my work. I have never in 15 years seen a patient sleeping in the hospital hallway. I'm not saying bed shortages aren't real. But talking with medical crews from all over the world, they seem no worse on Canada than anywhere else, and better than many. The truth is, by every single metric, the American Healthcare system lags the rest of the developed world. We're not just talking cost to access, we're talking health outcomes as well. When a single visit to the hospital can put you in bankruptcy, you can't expect anyone but the richest in the country to have the same level of care as is common for every citizen of every other Western country.

[@mats7492]

It’s not about patients health.. It’s about making money.. lots of money

[@Green__one]

You should try a civilized country. Most countries don't have the profit motive in hospitals as they aren't for profit enterprises. That's very much a uniquely american thing.

[@QuicksilverSasha]

@@Green__one cool, you gonna help us move?

[@matt9060]

@@QuicksilverSasha no, but you can make better voting choices, and get involved in getting others to vote

[@QuicksilverSasha]

@@matt9060 we made the better choice. There were 2 options and neither wanted to give people heath care.

[@matt9060]

@@QuicksilverSasha Fair enough 😅

[@epowell4211]

Between family members and myself, we've had quite a few hospital stays. Most rooms were ok, a few were really nice, and I think I was the only one who ever had a shared room. I spent a month in hospital after a bad car wreck, the last 2 weeks in the rehab side, and for several days, I shared a room there. It was weird, as we couldn't really see each other because of the way the room was made, but we could definitely hear. I was in my early 30s, she was in her late teens. IDK what kind of person she was normally - when not immobilized and in pain - but she was such a whiny brat under these conditions, that even the staff found her frustrating. As annoying and disrupting as she was, it was kind of beneficial to me: people almost always feel better when they are helping others, and I found myself comforting her and trying to help her constantly. That combined with trying to set a good example for her kept me from dwelling on my own pain and issues. I guess it's human nature to compare with others, convince yourself someone is worse off, and that helps you be more positive. I'll tell you one thing, I would have killed for windows that actually opened! The only "fresh air" I got was when they transported me from one wing from the other mid stay, and we passed close enough to an exit that for just a few seconds, I could smell something other than hospital chemicals - I looked as nuts as any laundry detergent ad trying to sniff in all that goodness lol.

[@FinancialShinanigan]

Don't worry, soon buildings will install screens instead of windows so you can change the view you want!

[@yad-thaddag]

Then you can watch porn on a big screen while in the hospital. 💪

[@kellenbecker3427]

It’d be really nice to find ways to remove/significantly reduce noises. I know some are vitally important to be attentive to but others can just display notifications and if they could have the equipment sync and display to the nurses station they could monitor status right on the computer silently. The noises in the hospital make it harder to sleep and sleep is especially important for immune system/ recovery etc. Anything that can be done to improve sleep in hospitals is welcome in my book!

[@revivedfears]

1 minute of content spread over nearly 10 minutes. Having a nice view and comfortable environment makes you feel better. Whoduvthunkit?!?!

[@_Bangs_]

Just spent a week in the hospital. I felt terrible, and as soon as I got home and started taking care of myself, things got waaay better

[@FlackNCoke]

Private rooms seem like an absolute no brainer and I’ve never understood why so many hospitals shove their patients together like sardines. Hopefully the pandemic has taught this lesson to the management and money people, but honestly real reforms will never happen until the US abolishes for-profit healthcare.

[@rickytorres9089]

it's the short cutting and exploitation of capitalism not itself. As there are sane if not GOOD ways to turn a profit yet inspires and fuels innovation, ethical and moral standards while still lining your pockets for the LONG TERM.

[@FlackNCoke]

@@rickytorres9089 Capitalism encourages short cutting and exploitation. It’s a feature, not a bug. It means the system’s working as intended. That’s why we need to take profit out of the equation entirely when it comes to services that benefit the community as a whole but don’t generally take in profits. Like healthcare.

[@glutenfreejoe6099]

Great video content, I was the Medical Power of Attorney for our Dad the last year's of his life including when he needed 24/7 care after falling and braking his hip in his late 80"s Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis Maryland and all the nurses, LPNs, techs, staff, all doctors at the Emergency Room Wards, ICU Wards, the 4th floor Wards and the 6th floor at Acute Elderly Care Unit are so incredible, each room has plenty of windows and nice views with exception of all of the Emergency Room yet has individual rooms typically unless overflow into hallway Also I volunteer 16 years on weekends at all 15 inpatient Wards including PICU, SICU & MICU Wards at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center which moved from Washington DC to Naval Activity Support Bethesda in Maryland August 2011. The doctors nurses LPNs techs and staff are all incredible and they have been constantly upgrading the Hospital Wards, Rooms and Hospital Buildings - they have remodeled, changed out the windows, even installed all new elevators for our Nation's Heroes - Military, Veterans and Their Families

[@michellemarie1197]

You know what I wished hospitals had? Fresh air, I mean think about it for a moment, dont germs spread easier and live longer in very contained spaces with little ventilation/ circulation? Also large hospitals are filled with germs and take longer to clean, I would feel safer going to a doctor for a checkup at a smaller clinic than a large hospital, especially during a pandemic.

[@kobalt5950]

Yes let’s base a video on a study with a sample size of 23.

[@tjejojyj]

Yes! How come it was 23 patients over 10 years? The other stupid thing is the diagram they showed had private room, which they tell us five minutes later is better. The topics are interesting but the smug - we have all the answers - tone of these Cheddar videos is very annoying. This is the last one I’ll watch.

[@armelburgess8651]

@@tjejojyj I agree with you, Tim. I'm also confused as to why people are trying to make this an American thing, citing their Scandinavian bs.

[@RaisonLychi]

When my sister was having her baby and we visited her in the hospital what bugged me was each room and hallway smelled noticably different and the air felt different it was weird because you'd think it'd mostly smell clean or sterile... But that wasn't it. Some parts just smelled stale.

[@sophieamarant1536]

I was in the hospital on Friday. I got admitted after my 4th Er visit in a week. It was definitely an interesting experience. I was born in Bloomington IN and spent the first two weeks of my life in the NICU at Riley’s children’s hospital in Indianapolis.

[@DSQueenie]

1:38 Hospital design..? Isn’t that Kings Cross Station?

[@aletheiai]

Yup. Nice big windows, though ;-/

[@brendansheehy802]

Oops - a few instances of the caption for Jeanne as an "independant scholar" slipped past the spelling police

[@MrNeptunebob]

I worked as a housekeeper in a large nursing facility and I notice it is not just the design but the materials used in the buildings and the fact ours was designed and built by the lowest bidder. For example, the VA looked institutional from being built in the 50s but it had terrazzo floors and ceramic bricks that curved to the floor and the corners were rounded. This would be very easy to clean up after a mess. The nursing home had carpet and worse, it had vinyl tile that must be waxed, is hard to clean and breaks and cracks and warps and looks terrible. The rubber baseboards look terrible and come off the walls. Some older buildings had garbage and laundry chutes to the basement. At the facility, too cheap to have that so we have to cart garbage and laundry all through the place which ties up the elevators and wears them out, they break all the time. A bad design is the patient bathrooms. Not only do they have the vinyl tile that is gross and smelly but when you get the resident + an assistant + their wheelchair it gets really crowded in there. Oh, and every resident has a window but some of them look out at the garbage dump. Architecture students should have a time to volunteer at a hospital, otherwise, these architects must be really dense.

[@MYERZ08]

So lucky to have our beautiful #NHS free for all health care at the point of service!

[@Green__one]

It's too bad these videos are so American focused. They talk about funding models, while completely ignoring the ones used by most of the world to great success.

[@armelburgess8651]

@@Green__one Most of the world uses the exact same model. I love how you people are taking the entire video and trying so hard to make it an American thing.

[@Green__one]

@@armelburgess8651 the USA is the ONLY country in the western world without public health care. Most second world countries too. You can't say most of the world has the same funding model as the USA without acknowledging that no other developed country does.

[@myreadingmapped]

One important factor in patient room and ICU room design are its shades. Visually transparent roller shades provide several important aspects in patient recovery. 1) the use of natural daylight to reduce the use of artificial lighting, 2) the psychological benefit of an outdoor view through the shade when full down while doing its job of controlling brightness and glare, and 3) studies have shown how a view through the shade when combined with the natural daylighting that passes through the shade and giving the patient a remote control over the motorized shades dramatically improves patient recovery because it gives bed-ridden patients some degree of normal activity and control over their lives.. Similar to outpatient laparoscopic surgery where the patient goes home the same day. The faster you feel normal means the faster you recover. So when choosing a hospital consider its windows to determine how fast you likely will recover.

[@thewhitewolf58]

You reminded me of the fact that people used to just be warehoused in a series of large rooms i think being sick or hurt near 30 other sick or hurt people with no tv would be next level punishment

[@DavidJGillCA]

This is old news. These "insights" were internalized by healthcare architects and their clients, perhaps thirty years ago. New hospital schemes have private rooms exclusively. Hospitals that do not conform to the ideals outlined in this video are considerably older and likely lack the resources to acquire the most desirable types of facilities. That is reality. I am an architect; I have worked on many healthcare/hospital projects.

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

People love to talk about "super spreaders" but honestly the hospital has to be the biggest super spreader out there not just for COVID but also for something MUCH more scary: Antibiotic resistant bacteria. Do NOT go to a hospital unless you absolutely have to, if you don't do that you could end up sicker in it than when you entered

[@리주민]

Ventilation is key too. Not just double rooms.

[@augiegirl1]

I spent 8 days in the hospital 10 years ago, but I couldn't sleep at night because I'm a night owl; I’d finally fall asleep about 10 am after the PA came in to discuss with me my test results from the blood draw @ 6! The food was actually pretty good.

[@allnamesaretakenful]

Hospital only made my mom sicker. We will never know if she would have survived if we treated her at home.

[@Lexyvil]

A study of only 23 patients to come to a conclusion is a bad sample number.

[@d.e.b.b5788]

What's interesting in American hospitals, is that both doctors and administrators insist that semi private rooms are the best for patients. YET, when doctors and administrators become patients, they insist on private rooms for themselves.

[@alejandrojerez1492]

As someone who stayed at a hospital; I am alive!

[@rickytorres9089]

I am very glad as I see what you are saying with this. I am equally glad I been alive even though I been to them many many times over my shortish life thus far.

[@TimelineWitch]

Basicaly all the new stuff proposed is the way we do it in Brazil, like no joke. ALL OF IT is implement here AND WE HAVE FREE CARE 4 EVERYONE

[@pluspiping]

I hope you keep telling Americans this and I hope they listen.

[@EmeraldMara85]

I'm gonna use these layouts in Theme Hospital/Two Point Hospital!

[@aletheiai]

The US hospital system is not "pay for care". Instead, it is "pay for middleman, middleman, middleman, shareholders, care."

[@JonathanMandrake]

In Germany, only 2 or rarely 3 beds are in one room, and most of them have windows. But to be alone in a room is still rare.

[@KitchenFSink]

It's on purpouse. They don't want to heal you, they want to keep treating you for as long as possible, healing you quickly doesn't make them as much money.

[@jizzlecizzle1388]

A massive issue in this interesting piece is you did not distinguish between en ER and the rest of the hospital. The former is for short stays -hours /days- during triage then dealing with acute and even critical conditions. It is not for recovery per se. It is organized for efficiency, especially while facing high rates of occupation, for instance in case of mass casualties. Either the ailment can be quickly addressed - like non threatening injuries (e.g.: ankle sprain), then the person discharged from the ER, or they are stabilized then moved to an other department, where the emphasis is on the recovery process and where all the concepts presented are relevant.

[@Carewolf]

But ER is like 1% of a hospital. Focusing on them is like focusing on the foyer, or the toilets..

[@jizzlecizzle1388]

@@Carewolf , my point is, it's not an area where patients recover. Their analysis is largely not applicable to the ER.

[@JohnCroucherAU]

Hospital in Adelaide Australia, public and free, all rooms private, all have windows and robots do deliveries the wards.

[@kazikian]

Having spent time in both children’s and adult hospitals, I have to say we do an amazing job of making children’s hospitals warm, bright and even fun; but we completely neglect the adults. Why did I get a PlayStation and TV at 17 but barely a newspaper at 18?

[@ianprince1698]

i have been in hospital a few times and I am happy with the six bedded ward for bedridden patients gives you some companionship whilst lying there the patents also each other

[@zencat55]

I was a respiratory therapist and as far as infections go - most staff don't follow anti-infection protocols consistently. Hospital design is a problem but so is staff.

[@NecrochildK]

This all seems weird to me as I've been in the hospital and even ICU a lot over the years and I've never seen a hospital room without a window to the outdoors, though sometimes it's simply over a rooftop. Nor have I ever seen one with hallways where the light isn't glaringly bright. I've only had to share a room with another patient once and even then we had a window.

[@angelitolibrero6755]

@1:03, do you guys intentionally misspelled Independent?

[@TheLiamster]

I’ve stayed in private hospitals and it’s like being in a luxury hotel.

[@trishayamada807]

I’ve never been in a hospital without a window for patient rooms. It’s like a hotel. My last baby, I had a suite with a whirlpool hot tub. Currently my mother is going through some health issues, and the only rooms that she was in that didn’t have windows were the rooms where tests were being done, like CT and MRI scans. These dark windowless hospitals must be really, really old. I don’t know of a single hospital in our area where you share a room, in fact the only person I know who has been in a shared room is my best friend in Canada. She said she’d have to pay to get a private room. I’d still take her health care over mine.

[@kristynkazumi]

The hospital I worked for (before I became disabled) is completely like the one the study recommends. It’s beautiful too. And they actually have good food.

[@whitelightning5937]

The main reason it’s uncomfortable is the price

[@WifeMamaArtist]

Who would WANT a shared room? I pay for private simply so I don’t have to!!

[@kalebdumez4695]

My insurance only covers shared rooms, so it could be cost that makes some people want shared rooms.

[@AM-gv9db]

I'm a nurse and we only have single rooms at my workplace. Many patients enjoy being alone in the room, and it's definitely convenient for us while working, but I've met quite a few patients who have wanted a shared room. It's mostly elderly people who feel alone at home. Maybe they're a widow who live in a big house all alone, or they only see their family on christmas or other holidays. Especially if they stay for weeks or even months they start to feel lonely in those rooms. I get asked all the time not to close the door to their room, because they like hearing the staff walk around outside, and sometimes they will sit in a chair in the hallway just observing us staff. It makes them feel less alone just knowing someone else is there, especially now during covid when family isn't allowed to visit. So I understand both views and I think we need to make it easier for patients who want to connect with others to do so.

[@ashii9966]

2:15 double pavillion plan 6:10 nurse station 6:50 importance of landscape

[@OddJobKid99]

My grandmother has been battling stage 4 cancer for the last 2 months and seeing a bunch of different places first hand makes me agree. Seems like to places with worse design have typically better/more efficient care. On the contrary, the last place she was in had a private room, big windows, open views, the whole 9 yards. Well, she came home from there and we needed to rush her to another hospital cause she got sent home with bed sores, sepsis, and pneumonia. Those good views didn’t do a whole lot if the staff is ineffective at taking care of the patients.

[@LucasFernandez-fk8se]

So can’t we just do exactly what we are doing now except make sure all exterior rooms have windows ? Or make sure all overnight patients have a room with a window?

[@rickytorres9089]

Exactly I never understand companies denial to make SIMPLE upgrades like this whenever possible. Room to be serviced? Why not get the Window Guy over there while it being worked on for other reasons and such?

[@sarawarlestedt7242]

I don’t understand why the “double wing layout” can’t have windows....

[@WifeMamaArtist]

Why is there picture of Kings Cross station when talking about hospitals?

[@cjmillsnun]

1:41, why is King's Cross (a railway station) in a video about hospitals?

[@ginnyjollykidd]

What about round wards? A nurses' station where a nurse can see into a semicircle of rooms, and windows in each room. It would reduce the distance doctors travel, too.

[@dianeridley9804]

Does it matter when the nurses spend 98% of their time inputting data into the electronic medical record and ignoring alarms, and doctors come into your rooms for two minutes to make sure you are "stable"?

[@redmist78]

I went to the ER twice in one day in February and it was such a joke and now I have doctor's bills out the butt. God bless America. Oh and I didn't get admitted even though it was an emergency and doctors aren't open on the weekends so that's why my insurance didn't pay for it. Nice

[@Motinu]

6:56 wait, in the US it's something special when a hospital has a small park for patients?

[@confusedwhale]

Why would _For Profit Hospitals_ want to decrease the length of a patient's stay? Why would a _For Profit Hospital_ want to decrease the quantity of medication administration? It was said in the video, in this hospital "city", the most important thing dictates what is prioritized. That's what we have. A medical system that prioritizes cost reduction and maximizes profits.

[@PeterdaPanda]

The Healthcare system in America cares about everything except for your health.

[@GH-oi2jf]

Not where I live. I spent many weeks in hospital and was well taken care of. What you say may be true of the healthcare bureaucracy, but not of the nurses, doctors, and medical technicians who provide direct patient services.

[@billbrasky6827]

@@GH-oi2jf True, thank you. For the most part the bedside staff do the best we can. One of the most important metrics for a good safe hospital should be nurse to patient ratios. Yet this is one of the first thing hospital systems cheap out on. Also the ratios shouldn't be based on what the hospital says they are, but what they actually are.

[@rickytorres9089]

@@GH-oi2jf Agrees provided there is ENOUGH they are usually at least decent to deal with. Thankfully the worst didn't even bother attaching a IV drip to me as I was concerned about getting it and I wasn't REALLY in need of some salt water (it was before they use a SLIGHTLY better mixture now of day based on a 15k ICU patients study so now the drips are MARGINALLY better than some salt water...).

[@rickytorres9089]

@@billbrasky6827 Exactly as a patient of many many instances it's that OR a idiotic doctor that gets the axe. Seriously a guy LITERALLY baby dosed me so nobody knew what was up for 45 minutes... Thankfully they eventually got the message that I was in such desire pain (I said and felt I was dying to the point I started cursing like a sailor to attempt to mitigate the pain in the intern) that they dosed me again (CORRECTLY). Then the nurse shot an immediate reacting one down the IV line. Ah cool feeling IV feels great when you know it's the stuff that's gonna really get you off to sleeping recovery (major surgery).

[@hugewangsan3060]

At 1:37 or so isn't that a picture of Kings Cross?

[@CalicoAidan]

Yup! Bizarre inclusion.

[@tracyeichel5820]

As a person who suffers from tonic clonic seizures and is in the hospital very frequently I can agree with this video!!🥀💯🌼🏵️

[@stevenlilley8045]

Very good, please do more investigation and more videos on medicine and health care, thank you

[@malbenita]

Hospitals at my country are different: we have less modern technology, but usually rooms are made for two, painted at light tone of green/blue/orange and just window. You lucky, if you have bathroom in your room, so you do not need to use the dig one made for everyone. But “just a room with ten couches” is still common here. But positive environment is important here: hospitals have their own territory, so there little parks for patients. Also, it’s common for people to go out and walk at corridors. I’m talking about wing I visit regularly since I have chronicle diese. It’s for kids and teens. Food here is not that good, but they have pictures on the walls and even refrigerators at rooms.

[@madoxxxx06]

The Butaro Cancer Hospital, in northern Rwanda, would make a great exemple for this video. It was designed by "Mass Design" , and completely changed the way hospitals are built in Rwanda. Things like using naturally antibacterial volcanic rock for the inner walls, or changing the layout of wards so that the nurse can see all the patient at once, while the patients have a nice view in front of them. Check them out, Rwanda has a lot interesting stuff happening in architecture and urbanization.

[@brianhayes7108]

I’ll tell you why hospitals are designed around the nurses and doctors and not the patients. There’s never a shortage of patients.

[@RandomYT05_01]

With how much hospitals charge us, letting us look out a window seems reasonable. Afterall, they save money and we are saving time.

[@Enourmousletters]

I'm sorry did you just cite a study that tracked *23* patients...? So... basically barely even a study at all.

[@dianastacey919]

People who say you do not need a private room are crazy. I spent a lot of time in hospitals because of my husband. Sometimes people die while lying next to you and children were brought in with their germs to visit next door. They had a patient tied to the bed who screamed for hours because he had dementia, had no clue what was happening to him, and my husband got zero rest and lots of stress. The smokers who cannot smoke, alcoholics etc get nasty in drug withdrawal. I feel sorry for the poor abused nurses. There is no torture like sleep deprivation and that is what happens to you in the hospital when they wake you every couple of hours to check your vitals, give you medication, and a hundred other things. When my dad was dying they finally put tape across the door so he could die in peace. One nurse insisted he had to sit up for her to check him, bathe him whatever and they get stubborn. Like when my husband said he was allergic to soap and the nurse insisted it wasn't soap. They almost killed him when they had to give him shots for the allergic reaction and overdosed him. He had just had heart surgery and wasn't strong enough to argue. If you want to experience what it is like in a hospital. Lie on a board for 3 days and you are not allowed to sleep. Remember you cannot move much because your body is attached to tubes and monitors with wires so no tossing and turning. There must be lots of noise and someone must shake you awake every couple of hours to make sure you are not sleeping. Now remember this is happening while you are extremely ill and just getting pain medication might involve an argument. It is so much fun when they want you to breathe into a tube and you have to be polite and not scream no. All doctors and nurses should be forced to be tortured this way before getting their license. I laughed about the idea of walking outside on a lawn. You have to wait forever just to get someone to wheel you out when you get permission to leave. If you are healthy enough to stand up they will chuck you out of the hospital. Your spouse or a visiting nurse will be caring for you at home changing your bandages and cleaning around the staples marching down your body because you are cut open like a fish, stripping the fluid from the tubes coming out of your body etc. The window sunlight is UV light preventing you from getting sick by removing bacteria from the environment. I doubt many patients are healthy enough to get up and look outside. If they can it means they are getting dressed to leave. Studies do show that seeing real trees is beneficial for your mental state and pictures of trees do not work. A hospital complex does not have trees only parking garages.

[@James7son]

I find this odd. It suggests how bad large urban centers have been for years. I live in Utah and here there haven't been hospitals with semi private rooms for years and years. In fact all of IHC hospitals and Mountain Star hospitals here have been fully private with outdoor gardens etc for literally decades.

[@marcsarfati3291]

4:45 mark "what we centralize or decentralize" she is using using the word wrong. The right word will be " What is most ESSENTAIL aspect of a hospital? That aspect should be build around" Centralized and Decentralize mean the amount Authority or Management in one place.

[@LizziesLukas]

I knew I always have a weird feeling about the emergency room

[@cmdr1911]

Remember you don't stay in the ER and ICU are different. The ICU is longer term and the ER is stabilization. The ER is usually ground floor and central. Limits windows. Other wings where you spend more time tend to get dedicated floors and that allows windows and more comforatble rooms. The stroke and materinity wards have been very comfortable for family memebrs whonhabe been there. The ER not so much. But the ER has a different role.

[@rickytorres9089]

I know right? Sucks when your there for hours upon hours...

[@rickytorres9089]

@@cmdr1911 Still it's not uncommon to be there for 6 plus hours where even getting a half decent healthy snack can be a challenge (I wanted at least a fruit cup or something not gram crackers or stupidly sweet apple sauce, as I was not feeling so good to eat those). Of course I was still reasonable with them as they cared to reassure me it simply they didn't have anything else in a nice manner. :)

[@AB-qo2xq]

Hits the nail on the head. Architects have a lot to answer for...

[@albertozorzi1876]

Single room are nice but you can’t have affordable healthcare AND hotel like rooms.

[@albertozorzi1876]

@Therese A. Judith Izzo-Davis not if you live anywhere.