4 Advances in Hospital Room Doors

From sliding doors with touchless operation to unequal pairs of doors, advances in healthcare facility doors have opened design options that were previously unavailable. The following list examines four advances in hospital room doors and their benefits in healthcare settings.

1. Space-efficient and acoustically rated patient room doors

Commercial sliding door systems dedicate less usable space to door swings and approach clearances. For example, ExamSlide™ sliding doors can save up to 30 square feet per door. This means more square footage can be used for seating and furnishing, cabinets, mobile workstations and other essential items. Further, by eliminating door swing clearances and using no-twist ADA compliant hardware, ExamSlide is more accessible for all.

These sliding door systems are also available with drop-down bottom seals and gaskets to close up the problematic leaky perimeter gaps between the wall and door while still ensuring ease of operation. They comply with the Facility Guidelines Institute and ADA guidelines and can earn a Noise Isolation Class (NIC) rating of up to 39. Their high acoustic rating helps protect patient confidentiality, which provides necessary acute care room privacy.

2. Easily accessible patient bathroom doors

As evidenced in the first point, acute care rooms can easily become crowded and inaccessible due to the number of essential items and features that need to be present. These accessibility issues increase when patients need bed lifts to move from the bed to a wheelchair and beyond. When a patient room includes a bathroom, installing a sliding door can help save valuable space while also making operation easier, both of which aid accessibility goals for added patient comfort and satisfaction. Further benefiting patient use, the ExamSlide sliding door frame can be made in a Barrier Free configuration. This design option splits the top frame to accommodate a bed lift, allowing patients to be transported through the sliding door opening.

3. Hands-free technology for hospital room doors

Over the past few years, more emphasis has been placed on reducing potential points of infection. Because door handles are some of the most commonly touched surfaces in all buildings, they can host a variety of bacteria and viruses and pose a risk to hospital patients and staff. To reduce touchpoints, hands-free technology, like the AutoMotion™ system, can be added to most of AD Systems’ sliding doors. A quick wave or simple push of a button signals the door to open and close. Low-energy and quiet operators with safety sensors ensure a safe, hygienic and effortless passage.

4. Perimeter gaskets and seals for negative pressure rooms

While perimeter gaskets and drop-down seals can boost acoustic performance, they may also help hospital room doors meet isolation room requirements, per their test results to UL-1784 standard for air leakage. Both sliding and swinging doors are often considered the weak links in a wall assembly since they can have a slight gap between the door, its frame and the floor. The perimeter gaskets and drop-down seals on the ExamSlide system quickly and effectively seal the door’s perimeter to help airflow and pressure management systems create a safe and sealed off environment.

Advances in hospital doors allow for better designs

Advanced hospital room doors can save space, create accessible rooms, mitigate infection risk and provide flexibility in healthcare design. When specified carefully, they can help create a facility that is more efficient and more comfortable for patients and staff. However, to maximize the potential benefits, design teams may need multiple systems. AD Systems sliding and swinging door systems can work together and be customized to fit a wide range of performance goals while also providing a cohesive design aesthetic. 

Kavidoors hermetic sliding operating room doors are the perfect solution for places where acoustic and thermal insulation and high hygiene conditions are required. The doors prevent the passage and accumulation of contaminating elements, guaranteeing the maximum possible hygiene in the facilities. Thus, they are applicable in hospitals for operating rooms, radiology, pharmaceutical industry, food, chemical industry, medical care center.

Manufactured with a hygienic design, with manual or automatic opening, the operating room doors are hermetically sealed under pressure and prevent the spread of bacteria.

They also have the leaf anti-fall-anti-tip safety system (patented by Kavidoors), thus complying with the CE Marking in terms of prevention of occupational risks of accidents.

They are supplied with different types of sight glasses, round, square, rectangular, and a wide range of coatings, which ensure maximum durability even in the most aggressive environments.

There are many automatic doors for hospitals on the market today. The safety features of automatic doors can help determine how safe, secure, and accessible each hospital is. 

Hospitals are some of the busiest facilities in the world, with many averaging over 600,000 people daily. That is a massive number of individuals who each require high safety and security while inside the building. 

In order to protect the people visiting, working in, and seeking help from these hospitals, it is crucial to install automatic door systems that provide an array of safety features. 

With so many different automatic door options and an abundance of features and tools, knowing what each building wants and needs will depend on what they already have, whether or not it is up to code, and how they would like to implement latest technologies.

What Types of Automatic Doors Are There for Hospitals?

There are many different types of automatic doors for hospitals, each making access and safety a lot easier to manage. Some of the more popular options you can choose from include,

These doors are made from durable, high-quality materials, come in various designs, and can be custom-fitted to each room or entryway.

Hospitals can also equip each door with different features to ensure safety and security.

Importance of Safety Features in Automatic Hospital Doors

With hospitals having consistent incoming and outgoing traffic and housing seriously ill or injured patients, safety is always a concern worth investing in. If every door is not properly set up for all types of emergencies, patients, staff, and visitors are always at risk.

Companies that install automatic doors are well aware of the safety features required by code and the ones that should be added for additional safety measures. 

Accessibility

One requirement that will result in consequences if overlooked is accessibility. "To determine the number of accessible entrances required, you look at all the entrances to the building, and at least 60 percent of those doors are required to serve as an accessible entrance." (iccsafe.org)

Accessibility is crucial for safety because it ensures every patient can access services and health care. When it comes to accessibility and up-to-code entrances, you also need to install safety features, such as motion sensors and wider doorways.

Germ-Free Zones

Maintaining a clean and healthy space for patients to feel safe while inside the hospital is also essential. Automatic doors with features such as touch-free entries and tightly sealed doorways can help keep the spread of illnesses at bay.

Protection from Dangers

Using the right automatic door safety features can help prevent violent attacks, vandalism, theft, and other dangerous situations from arising. Implementing features like access controls, key-card entryways, and bullet-resistant glass can protect people better than out-dated door systems. 

Horizontal, accordion folding fire and security doors can also be effective in stopping intruders in their tracks and also provide the added benefit of reducing the risk of fire spreading throughout the facility. 

Privacy

Privacy is also essential in hospital settings. Patients and staff provide a lot of personal information daily in healthcare facilities, from insurance to health and financial information. All of these details released should be protected from the public and those with dishonest intentions. Privacy is also needed in terms of patient privacy when they are being cared for or in a room like an ICU.

Automatic Door Safety Features for Hospitals

Whether you have an automatic sliding glass door or an automatic wooden swinging door, you must ensure these entryways are prepared for anything. This level of protection can be accomplished by using an automatic sliding door lock, access controls, sensors, and various other features.

Door Openers

There is no need for patients and staff to touch door handles and latches anymore. Automatic sliding doors, commercial style, now come with touch-free opening options to keep germs at bay. These openers also aid those with disabilities who would otherwise have trouble opening the doors.

Some of the best sliding door opener options include:

• Automatic door mats: Presence-sensing mats placed in front of the door detect incoming traffic, sending signals to the door to open.
• Motion sensors: Motion sensors are also used to detect oncoming traffic, signaling the doors to open without human intervention.
• Self-closing: Self-closing doors can be set to close slower or faster depending on where they lead, ensuring patients have plenty of time to make it through safely. It can also keep people from piggybacking to gain access to restricted areas. 

Door Locks

Automatic door locks are also useful and can be programmed to lock at specific times or can lock anytime the door closes shut. Automatic locks can keep restricted areas off limits to anyone without access and ensure offices, supply rooms, or pharmacies are always secure.

Access Controls

Utilizing access control features is one of the best ways to keep tabs on everyone coming and going from a hospital and ensure everyone is accounted for at all times. It can also help prevent theft and damage by only allowing specific people into certain areas.

Some types of access control features include:

• Card key entrances: This system logs entry and exit and only allows those holding the card access.
• Electronic keypads: Only those with the code can access the area.
• Remote control operators: Provide the person with the remote control over who comes and goes.
• Sensor detection and alerts: Alerts to anyone coming and going from a room.

Features for Special Rooms

• Air-tight seals: Pressure isolation rooms require air-tight seals to avoid contamination inside and outside the room. These features are perfect for spaces such as airborne isolation infection rooms and ICU rooms.
• Bullet-resistant glass: Unfortunately, hospital shootings do happen, and there is no way (at this time) to prevent them all. However, bullet-resistant glass doors can help protect those behind them.
• Breakaway doors: These breakaway doors are often used in patient rooms and critical care units. These doors will open when pushed hard enough, offering a more expansive entryway fast. 
• Opaque/tinted glass: Glass panels that provide privacy can help patients feel calm and comfortable.
• Self-closing/smoke-rated ICU/IMU/CCU doors: These doors can automatically secure an area of the hospital that is on fire, confining it to a small space.

Automatic Doors Problems

• Low-quality systems: When automatic door systems are installed in hospitals, high-quality products are essential. A professional setup will require minimal maintenance and repairs.
• Lack of features: Most hospitals will benefit from utilizing the majority of safety features available for automatic doors. If a door lacks essential locks, openers, sensors, etc., they won't provide the right level of protection.
• Insignificant instructions or knowledge: It is critical that the staff understands how to use the features to get the most benefits out of them. 
• Improper care: Automatic doors are high-tech and do require a level of care and caution. If doors are misused or not maintained and never inspected, they may not always work correctly, limiting the level of security provided.

Hospitals have various automatic door safety features, with special rooms requiring additional security. These doors are designed for specific situations and ensure that possible threats or complications are considered when installed.It is obvious that there are ample benefits to installing automatic sliding, swing, folding, and revolving doors in a hospital setting. However, there can be a few problems that come along with them as well.These problems will only exist if hospitals aren't educated on the door systems they choose or leave out important features that can make all the difference.

As long as a quality automatic door system is set up correctly, appropriately used, and has the best features available, there will be little problems to deal with. The positives of automatic hospital doors definitely outweigh the negatives.

Choosing the Best Features for Automatic Hospital Doors

By choosing a respectable and reliable door service company, such as Door Services Corporation, hospitals, and healthcare facilities will gain access to knowledgeable, certified, and trustworthy professionals who can help determine which automatic doors and features are best.

Having an expert on hand is one of the best ways to ensure all door systems work correctly and all features do their job 100%. This service will ensure people, information, and property are protected from threats (human or environmental) for many years.