Achieving green design acoustical standards in healthcare facilities.

Abstract

With the advent of the green guide for healthcare, and the introduction of LEED health care, which both include acoustical design credits, the benefits of good acoustical design have been recognized for improving patient recovery rates as well as staff health and efficiency. The acoustical issues in designing health care facilities cross the spectrum of acoustical design: sound isolation/speech privacy, room acoustics, sound masking, mechanical noise/vibration, environmental noise, and project‐specific features, such as MRI and helipads. It is the responsibility of the acoustical consultant to address each item with the design team to develop cost‐effective solutions to meet the criteria established by the green standards. This paper will provide background information on the acoustical design challenges for healthcare facilities and will discuss general approaches that achieve the goals of green acoustical design. Specific examples from projects will also be included, drawing from experience in design of hundreds of health‐care facilities, as well as documentation of credits achieved for numerous medical centers that plan to submit for LEED healthcare. This paper will be a valuable resource for acoustical consultants in the design of all types of healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, central plants, medical office buildings, and nursing facilities.