Moving to a Single Patient Room Design: Are There Physical and Psychological Effects on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Staff?

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) design has transitioned away from the traditional open bay (OB), multi-bed rooms to single patient rooms (SPR). The change in design is in response to evidence that preterm infants can be adversely affected by routine intensive care unit (ICU) care and benefit from a physical space that reduces stimuli yet supports their health care needs [1]. In May of 2012, the OB NICU in our hospital moved to a SPR design in a newly built Children’s Hospital. Although the number of beds remained the same, the NICU footprint changed from approximately 10,000 square feet to more than 28,000 square feet, necessitating a change in workflow for the staff. Given the increase in square footage, the required amount of walking for the staff, per shift, was expected to increase significantly. As a result, the NICU staff was anxious about the move to the unfamiliar environment and the potential increased physical demand required performing patient care duties. Volume 4 Issue 4 2016