Hospital Acoustical Assessment
Overview: Healthcare facilities have a number of unique sound requirements, from speech privacy between patient rooms to acoustic treatment in lecture halls. Remember that STCs of 40 or higher are required in a number of partitions in hospitals, clinics, and labs, while even stricter isolation is required where doctor-patient confidentiality is needed. Consider the following rules of thumb.
- Use Sound Masking to “cover” unwanted conversation between adjacent offices, especially when walls can not go to deck
- Increase the STC of walls to 40 or higher around waiting rooms, and 50+ around patient rooms per ANSI S12
- Install acoustic treatment (panels, clouds, or fabric wall systems) in large rooms used for speaking engagements or lectures
General Acoustics: When to use Sound Masking in Healthcare versus hiring a Medical Acoustic Consultant
Healthcare Acoustic Treatment – Treat Echo and Reverberation
In many theater, healthcare or educational projects where there is unwanted reverberation and traditional acoustical panels aren’t suitable, wall-to-ceiling fabric acoustical walls are a seamless way to stylishly and effectively create sound privacy. When the world-renowned Moffitt Cancer Center needed assistance renovating their large multipurpose conference rooms, they contacted Commercial Acoustics to design and install large acoustical walls for their meeting rooms.
Using dense 1” thick fiberglass and custom cut track frames on the wall, Commercial Acoustics applied acoustically-transparent fabric to seamlessly cover the space. The fabric walls are decorative and durable, perfect for high-traffic environments. The 2-day installation process meant that the conference spaces were not inaccessible for an extended period of time, making our clients and hospital guests happy.
In the end, the use of a acoustic fabric wall system provided the reverberation control needed in the space while maintaining and improving the aesthetics in the space.
Other: Information about reducing noise complaints in hospitals
