Nursing Home Design Guide
2006
Duplication of facilities should be
4. New Concepts in the delivery of
minimized where limited resources
Nursing Home care should be
are available.
considered. These include naming units
3. User Needs
or sub-units thematically instead of
alphanumeric designations, eliminating
Resident dignity and respect for
and/or decentralizing nursing stations,
individuality should be accommodated
and creating bright and inviting country
while considering operational realities.
kitchens for dining and socialization.
Resident vulnerability to stress from
1.2.3 Space Planning and Design
noise, lack of privacy, poor or
inadequate lighting and other causes,
1. Flexibility
and the subsequent harmful effect on
The design of Nursing Home facilities
well being, are known and documented
needs to respond to changing
phenomena.
workloads, care objectives, and
technologies such as wireless
An inherent opportunity exists in the
technologies for staff.
design of Nursing Home facilities to
address the above issues and to offer
Spaces should be universally
creative solutions to enhance resident
designed to accommodate a range
comfort and contribute to positive
of related functions.
outcomes.
Generic plans should be developed
to respond to changes in use and
A key architectural objective should be
assignment.
to reduce emphasis on the institutional
Special spaces need to be designed
aspects of care and to surround the
and grouped to accommodate a
resident and family with furniture,
range of functions and to
furnishings and fixtures that are more
accommodate change if possible.
homelike, i.e., residential and
comfortable.
2. Efficiency
The design of Nursing Home facilities
Proper planning and design appeal to
should provide resources to
the spirit and sensibilities of both
accommodate increasing health care
residents and care providers. A spirit of
demands.
neighborhood or household should be
encouraged.
Support spaces, such as storage
and utility rooms, should be
Nursing Home facilities need to be
designed to be shared where
environments of healing that allow the
possible to reduce the overall need
building itself to be part of the
for space.
therapeutic setting. The technical
Functions with requirements, such
requirements to operate the building
as facility supply and transport
should be unobtrusive and integrated in
areas, should be grouped or
a manner to support this concept.
combined to achieve efficiency of
operation.
Office of Facilities Management
1-4
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