Acuity-adaptable patient room from the patient’s perspective

Abstract

Acuity-Adaptable Patient Room is a single room concept where a patient is cared for in the same room during the entire hospital stay at any level of acuity. This room concept has demonstrated benefits with regards to patient safety, patient experience, and decrease length of stay. A descriptive study on renal transplant patients was done to describe the patient's perspective about this room concept. Content-validated questionnaires were provided to 36 consenting renal transplant patients and 33 were completed and returned. Twenty-five patients claimed that the monitoring device in the room made them feel safe. One patient complained of discomfort because his feet hung off the bed. Another felt that transition from the operating room to the floor was noisy. Although most patients felt that the room temperature was adequately controlled, however the room temperature did fluctuate from hot to cold. Most patients expressed that the care they received was exceptional and the room provided a healing environment.