How Paint Colors and Protective Coatings Support Better Healthcare Spaces
Posted Aug 17, 2020 by Dave Scaturro
Key Takeaways
- Paint choices in healthcare facilities can influence how calm, comfortable, or energized patients feel in different spaces.
- Coating selection and application methods also matter because VOCs, containment, and ventilation can affect patient and staff safety during the project.
- A healthcare painting project should balance appearance, patient experience, and proper safety protocols from start to finish.
A hospital or clinic is meant to evince comfort, cleanliness, and healing, and decisions to paint or repaint all or part of your facility interiors can have an effect on this. The colors you choose, the paint types, and even the treatments you use to finalize the project are going to play into this, but a paint job, especially indoors, has a physical side to go with the psychological. Read on to learn more.
Priority 1: Paint Colors that Soothe or Energize
The right color choices in a given wing of your healthcare facility can play a key role in making your patients feel safe, calm, and cared for even before they see their physician. For example, soft, cool colors, like blue, have this exact effect and might be useful in waiting and exam rooms.
Greens bring to mind nature and can lower stress levels. Brighter, warmer colors that are associated with higher energy like red and yellow might be less appropriate in these same locations. However, in physical therapy rooms, those colors would suit the mood and perhaps be more welcome.
Priority 2: Paints and Treatments that Are Safely Applied
Choosing a color or colors to serve a specific space is only the beginning. The truth of the matter is that whatever process you choose to apply those colors can affect your patients as well, while the project is underway.
According to the EPA, paints and treatments contain VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, which can have an adverse effect on a person's airways, eyes, and more.
This is why careful containment and ventilation are key in preventing harm to patients and staff. To ensure that correct application, safety, and cleanliness are maintained at all times, hire professional painters who understand the protocol for closing off areas under construction, the use of personal protective equipment, and how to safely seal and treat the final product.
Are parts of your healthcare facility ready for a facelift? Fill out the form below for an estimate.
