Single Family Room Nicu Design

We included 9995 nicu encounters over 5 years. Documenting the nicu design dilemma. As development based family centered care shifts the focus from the preterm infant alone to the parentchild dyad the design of nicu environments is responding by trending away from multi patient open bay wards open to single family room sfr floor plans2 3as anticipated by white4private rooms favor patients and their parents by affording greater privacy environmental control and space customization to the infants individual medical and developmental needs.

Parent and staff perceptions of open ward versus single family room units.

Single family room nicu design. Domanico r davis dk coleman f davis bo. Documenting the nicu design dilemma. Larger room areas inherently increase travel distances. It is generally accepted that they reduce the risk of nosocomial infection facilitate individualized and developmentally appropriate levels of sensory input for infants and enhance parental comfort and privacy.

The nicu at the iwk health center in halifax nova scotia is embarking on a redevelopment project that will see its current open bay design converted to a single room care environment. While most studies investigating the effects of single patient room type focus on staff perceptions and medical factors there are a few studies that have investigated the effect on the family or mother. White3called attention to the dilemma inherent in this design movement. Single family rooms sfrs have been embraced by many as essential to the design of a modern nicu.

Boekelheide nicu at sanford childrens hospital single family room stevens et al. The overall unit is intrinsically changed with the advent of single family room nicus. There will be a period during the redevelopment when new single room care unit will coexist with one open bay unit. This study examined outcomes in a single family room neonatal intensive care unit nicu compared to an open bay within a public safety net hospital.

Parent and staff perceptions of open ward versus single family room units. Single family room parent support space closet. Therefore strategies need to be developed to decentralize work areas for nursing staff and the many specialty subconsultants that are involved in the collaborative care of patients in the nicu. Cas article google scholar.

Despite the single patient room being assumed to benefit the parents of the premature infant there are few studies that have investigated the effects of the single patient room on the family. Nicus are trending away from multi patient open bay wards open to single family room sfr designs while neonatal health care practices are becoming more family centered.