Healthcare Lighting Design for Patient Experience

Sentara Brock Cancer Center, located in Norfolk, Virginia features a healthcare lighting design with the patient experience at its heart. From the welcoming lobby that incorporates biophilic design elements to the color changing lights in the Virginia Oncology Associates radiology vaults, the building champions the comfort of patients. While there are many factors in patient experience, the environment sets the stage. Shannon Kris, Director of Radiation Services for Virginia Oncology Associates, explains, “When you have an organization that emphasizes patient experience, that emphasis flows into the leaders and staff. Ultimately, everything works together for the entire patient experience, from the front desk staff to the clinical staff, to the environment. That affects the care patients are receiving. It’s important that the standard for patient experience be set at a high level.”

End Users Advocate For Better Lighting Design

Shannon describes her experience with the color changing lighting in the patient care vaults. “A couple of years ago, the architect designing our Hampton radiology department recommended color changing lighting for our vaults, and the patients loved it! We decided to go with the (RGBW cove lighting) going forward because the more than we can make patients comfortable, the better. The lights are really calming and create an environment that is conducive to relaxation.”

“When the choice between static white and RGBW lighting came into question (during the bidding phase), the radiology staff advocated for color changing based on patient feedback from their Hampton radiology department.” Shannon explains.

Resource Lighting + Controls coordinated with contractors and specifiers to provide Acuity Brands cove lighting and Fresco Lighting Controls. They provided budgetary quotes and worked with contractors to maintain budgets. But their job doesn’t end with providing lghting and controls, Resource programmed the lighting and trained the staff on how to use their lighting controls to create “light shows” of the patients choice.

How Easy Are Fresco Lighting Controls To Use?

The video below shows a quick demonstration of how easily Fresco Lighting Controls are for the end user to operate. It’s an excellent demonstration. What do the oncology professionals at Virginia Oncology Associates think of their Fresco Control System?

“The lights are actually very easy to operate. We were nervous and little concerned about learning how to do the light shows for our new vaults and how we would change the colors. But, the training took less than 10 minutes. Since that time, we are all able to come into the rooms and easily operate the lights. Operating the lights is very intuitive – not difficult at all.” Shannon Kris, Director of Radiation Services for Virginia Oncology Associates.