April 1, 1999

When you’re working in a hospital, you rarely notice the lobby since you’re usually zooming past people, eager to catch the next elevator and get where you need to be. But when you’re a friend or a relative of a patient, when you’re waiting to talk to the surgeon, or to hear the results of the heart cath, lobbies are pretty bleak places. In fact, most are chilling, gray, and very uncomfortable.

I know, you’re probably thinking that you have more important things to worry about than the architecture and design of your facility’s waiting areas. And you do. You’re there to worry about issues critical to patient care. But if you’re also interested in creating an atmosphere that’s sensitive to your community’s needs and that reinforces your organization’s philosophy about care, spend 20 minutes or more alone in your lobby when you get a chance. Just sit there. Feel the seats. Soak up the atmosphere. Look for something good to read. Imagine you have three hours to kill there. It’s usually very depressing.

And then compare the hospital lobby to other public places. You walk into a shopping mall and see lots of pretty flowers and plants, atrium-style lighting, Internet access kiosks, and coffee wagons. A hotel lobby has light and art and comfortable couches. A nice restaurant’s waiting area may even have a fireplace, a coffee table, some old books on the shelves. Even a bank usually has a few soft chairs, conversation areas, and pretty carpeting.

A few months ago I sat in an emergency department’s waiting room, afraid of what was going on behind the large, locked double doors. There was a TV on—blaring—and turned in such a way that almost no one could see the screen. The chair was cold, hard plastic. Minutes felt like hours. There was no pot of coffee, nothing to look at, nothing to read except an issue of Arizona Highways that was about 10 years old. The place didn’t inspire confidence or help me relax. I couldn’t even take a walk, because I was afraid the staff would want me, and I would not hear their call.

Imagine what these spaces could be. Big, comfortable couches and chairs that could even recline if you wanted a short nap. Books and magazines in neat racks and a visitor’s desk where you could check out radio headphones, portable CD players, audiobooks, pagers, and handheld video games. A gigantic basket of apples. An area with individual TVs and headphones so you could be entertained without bothering others. A few tables where you could play cards or even plug in a laptop. A concierge. A big spray of fresh flowers on the table.

Money is tight, I know. But for institutions looking to show they care, there’s no better place to start than the lobby. It sets the tone for the entire hospital experience. At the moment, most of our front rooms look like cold airport waiting areas, designed for people who desperately want to take off. We ought to change that.

What do you think?

Barbara Bronson Gray, MN, RN
Editor in Chief

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