SAN ANTONIO -- Hospitals are supposed to be calm, quiet places of healing. But anyone who has ever been to one knows it can get pretty noisy.
Now, more facilities are paying attention to the problem and taking steps to cut down on the chaos.
Technology and human voices combine to create sometimes noisy environments in hospitals. At the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, workers are particularly tuned in to the potential problem.
“Studies have shown over the last 20 years that exposure to high amounts of noise in premature babies is associated with poor neurodevelopmental outcomes,” explained Dr. Alex Kenton, medical director of the unit.
When this unit was revamped in 2005, the hospital installed several innovations to dampen the clamor.
Floors are coated with a rubber surface. Special ceiling tiles absorb sound. And blankets on the Isolettes shield the tiniest of patients from unwanted noise.
Decibel meters sense when levels go above 55 decibels and remind staff to quiet down with flashing red lights.
“We see the flash,” Kenton said. “It’s a pretty obvious flash. And so people do try to keep their voices down.”
At Methodist Stone Oak Hospital, the two-year-old facility employs a more subtle overall approach: white noise.
Sound masking, as it’s called, is generated by a Muzak system. The whooshing, wind-like sound mutes conversations and acts as a sort of buffer.
“It goes unnoticed,” stated Rebecca Notgrass, the patient access director. “If you’re not listening for it and you don’t know what it is, you really don’t know that you’re listening to it.”
Believe it or not, noise (even more than hospital food) is one of the top hospital complaints. That’s why facilities across the country are embarking on quiet campaigns.
