Choosing the Best Hospital Flooring for Every Area

Even though it may not be quite obvious, hospital floors are a crucial part of creating a quality care setting. Making the right decisions in terms of type, installation, and maintenance can affect everything about your institution.

Having an appropriate hospital flooring can help create a positive and welcoming atmosphere for the staff, the patients and their families. That being said, it should also meet some important standards. The following features can help you make a good decision according to the area in question.

Entrance/Lobby

The impression your entrance makes can make a big difference. Therefore, it should be welcoming and well balanced appeal and function wise. Entrances and lobbies are high traffic areas, which is why the floor needs to be sturdy, but it should also pleasant under the feet. Hospital vinyl flooring is known for its flexibility and durability, which makes it a perfect choice for entrance and lobby areas. You can find it the form of planks, or in a practical and durable vinyl sheet design.

Vinyl floors are the most quality imitation of real wood, available in multiple shades to match every hospital interior. For easier maintenance, you can select hospital vinyl flooring that comes with polyurethane reinforcement (PUR). It’s 100% recyclable and has low VOC emissions, which have a bad impact on indoor air quality.

Hallways and Clinical Rooms

Hallways are the busiest areas in the hospitals that see heavy use 24/7. The hallway floors are constantly exposed to foot traffic and heavy rolling loads, such as equipment carts, stretchers, med carts and wheelchairs. A highly durable, minimum maintenance floor is the best option for these areas.

Synthetic rubber flooring might be the best choice for the hallways since it provides quietness, resilience and comfort underfoot. Thanks to their dense, closed surface, rubber floor coverings are extremely wear-resistant, easy to clean and look almost like new even after many years of use. All these features make rubber flooring ideal for clinical rooms where life-saving operations are performed.

Another suitable option for clinical rooms is luxury vinyl flooring. Luxury vinyl is scratch and scuff-resistant, durable and comes in a variety of designs. This type of flooring comes in textures and patterns that mimic natural materials, but there are also options that help create a more modern/contemporary look. It also absorbs sound quite well. Luxury vinyl can be installed on top of any flat surface: concrete, plywood, vinyl and even tile.

Operating/Emergency Area

The flooring in the operating and emergency areas should be easy to keep sanitary and promote elite levels of hygiene. The best option for these facilities is a floor that has a smooth or low-texture surface. Sheet vinyl floors are the most popular choices for operating and emergency areas. With the right finish and coating, the vinyl food doesn’t need to be polished or waxed. Linoleum flooring is another appropriate choice. It’s very durable and requires a little maintenance. However, sharp objects can cut the material, and it can be slippery when new or waxed.

Patient Rooms

Patient rooms should create a home-like atmosphere as much as possible. In light of that, it is important to pick the right colour, texture and pattern for the floor. Vinyl flooring for hospitals offers a great solution for patient rooms. Sturdy, water-resistant and durable, luxury vinyl floors are another great option for patient rooms. These flooring selections are highly durable and more affordable than natural materials. What’s more, they can be installed rapidly which equates to minimal staff and patients disruption.

Nurse Stations

Professionals recommend hospital flooring for nurse stations areas that come with special coatings so that they can resist scratches while omitting/minimising the need for waxing, buffing, and chemical cleaning. Sheet vinyl and sheet rubber are considered resilient flooring types. Sterile and durable, they are ideal for use in nurses’ stations and are widely known as some of the best hospital floorings. Make sure you use options with protective coatings to extend the life of the floor.

Cafeterias

A patterned and textured floor that can both hide scuffs and reduce slips and falls is the best choice when it comes to cafeteria floors. Such options include vinyl, luxury vinyl and tile flooring.

Hospital Bathrooms

Although often overlooked, the hospital’s bathroom is one of the most important areas. It should be highly hygienic, and as easy to maintain as possible. Among the top three options are linoleum, vinyl and luxury vinyl. The first two are easy to maintain and they also prevent slips and falls, whereas the third one offers the level of durability and spotlessness hospital bathrooms should adhere to.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Hospital Flooring

• It should be slip-resistant. It’s essential for every room flooring in the hospital to be stable and slip-resistant. The flooring should be smooth, without edges to trip over. Also, it shouldn’t be too hard as to prevent serious injures in case of falling. Vinyl and rubber are good options regarding this aspect.
• It should absorb noise. Hospitals should be quiet places where patients can rest while staff members are trying to concentrate. Choosing a floor that won’t echo the sound of every step is essential.
• Sanitisation is important. When floors are spill-resistant and sealed, they prevent microbes and germs from spreading. According to hospital flooring standards, surfaces must reject moisture, bacteria and allergens.
• It should be aesthetic. Since hospitals are not people’s favourite places, they should be as welcoming as possible. The colours of the floor can add to that effect, as well as the reflection of light – neutral and soft colours should take precedence over others for creating a calmer ambience.