SO I’ve spent the last few days with an up close and personal experience with waiting rooms, and, as you might imagine, I have some thoughts 😏.  

All spaces are designed either by intention or by default…choices have to be made after all to light the space, finish the space, furnish the space…these choices result in outcomes that are sometimes good, and sometimes bad.

In a perfect world, none of us would have to spend time in a waiting space - no one actually CHOOSES waiting as a fun activity.  

The waiting room I spent some quality time in for 12 of the last 24 hrs, was an ER waiting room. Most waiting rooms, and especially ER waiting rooms, are hovering somewhere near the 7th circle of hell. 

Here are a few design takeaways that I had PLENTY of time to think about, and the choices that would improve any waiting experience.

Lighting

This ER waiting area was relatively new in the scheme of things, and had been designed with intention - it included high ceilings, ample windows for a lot of natural light, and, blessedly, interesting LED fixtures instead of harsh utilitarian fluorescent lights.  

Lighting makes a huge difference in any space. Please avoid fluorescent lighting at all costs, and use more friendly color temperature LED’s in public spaces to evoke a calmer, more pleasant atmosphere. Lighting was one thing this waiting room got right.

Colors and Nature 

Soothing colors and some biophilic design touches that bring the outdoors in (read, plant life, or at least faux plant life), go a long way toward decreasing stress and promoting a more pleasant environment. This waiting room included some warm toned woods and neutral finishes along with ubiquitous gray upholstery. There are a limited number of choices in hospital grade furniture. It could have been worse… 

What was a missed opportunity here was the addition of plants. An area so blessed with windows and natural light, it was begging for some greenery. How much more welcoming would this space look with some potted trees?  

Extra touches

Adding some thoughtful touches to public spaces goes a long way to making waiting more pleasant. 

I’ve been in airports with USB charging ports in the gate lounge seats, and with charging stations and counters for working on a computer.  These amenities would be welcome in any waiting space.  EVERYONE has a phone at the very least that needs to be kept charged.

Amenities in what I’ve come to think of as “my” waiting room included a helpful charging station for various electronics in the family waiting area.  Unfortunately a lot of the plugs dangled from disconnected bare wires and no longer worked.  Nothing worse than having your hopes dashed by finding what you thought was a lovely perk, being broken.  My phone, alas, did not fit the lone working plug type.

Accessible concessions for coffee or snacks are always a welcome sight, though during this lingering pandemic era, hospitals have emptied vending machines and limited access to food and beverages since they still stringently require masking,

Typically, waiting spaces include a television or two.  This waiting room included 3.  One in the patient area, one in the family waiting area, and a small one near a child size table , presumably to run children’s programming, though I only saw it display a static image of fish the entire time I was there.  I don’t think it fooled anyone into thinking it was an aquarium…  

The crowning touch, though, was the television I was seated across from, which was running some deer hunting CSI show (who knew such a thing even existed??) punctuated by ambulance chaser ads for class action lawsuits. You cannot make this stuff up 🤣. Seriously? This was the best they could come up with? 

Waiting rooms are rarely without entertainment, whether intentional like televisions and children’s areas, or unintentional like the couple next to me who spent the evening watching you tube videos at an alarming volume to figure out how to program the voice mail on a phone…I now know how to program their phone too, whether I want to or not. They WERE, in fact, successful as they tested the finished product for the enjoyment of the captive audience as well.

Attitude 

While not a design issue, possibly one of the most important features of the staff in a waiting space is a pleasant attitude.

Most people in an ER waiting room are, by definition, stressed out. They are there either ill, or worried about a loved one who is. 

 While I sympathize with the front line workers who get all the complaints and have none of the power to change anything, a little grace and kindness goes a long way.  Let’s start with NOT having a personality disorder with anger issues at the front desk, shall we? And for the love of God, let’s not let her loose in the ER proper to interact with patients. I witnessed some unspeakable behavior toward patients and family members during my tenure.  

But I also saw some of the kindest and most compassionate nursing and support staff too.  

The design of public spaces matters and waiting spaces, especially in health care facilities, maybe matter more than most.  

I’d highly recommend putting yourself in the position of the people who will USE the space and trying to think through what might make their forced stay more tolerable.

Other posts you my enjoy:

Design Matters: Can this hotel room be saved? 

Which lightbulb should I choose? (spoiler alert, fluorescent is NEVER the right answer!)

PS My family members have safely survived their ER visits.