A new Boston Globe article sheds light on a growing trend—establishing single rooms at hospitals.
Beyond the issue of privacy, several factors suggest single rooms are more of a necessity than a luxury. From the Globe article:
“One is the sheer logistical challenge of assigning patients to doubles: Hospitals don’t mix patients of different genders, or those who are contagious. The result is that many double rooms have an empty bed.
Another important factor is safety: It’s harder to prevent patients from catching infections when they’re just a few feet from another sick person.”
We’ve witnessed this trend for at least five years. Many of our campaigns have included the building of private rooms in their case for support. Still, as the Globe piece points out, “[W]hile nonprofit hospitals run large fund-raising campaigns to underwrite these projects, the costs of new buildings ultimately get built into the prices patients, insurers, and employers pay for health care.”
What do you think the future will hold? Will hospitals everywhere commit to providing only single rooms for their patients? It may be a sound strategy, but is it feasible?