Hospital floors must be hard-wearing and able to provide good cushioning under the feet. When addressing this need for your health facility, it is pivotal to consider that each area tackles different issues on a daily basis.
Entrance Area
Without a doubt, this area gets a lot of foot traffic, so the flooring installed here must be quite sturdy. Now, since the entrance area is the first thing patients, families and visitors see in a hospital, choosing a floor that can make for a good first impression is also important. That being said, terrazzoand vinyl flooring are the two most suitable options.
While terrazzo is highly durable, it’s vinyl flooring hospital setting could benefit the most from when it comes to getting the best of both worlds – sturdiness and appeal. Vinyl flooring hospital tiles and sheets are low maintenance and built to last. Generally speaking, vinyl floors are also extremely easy to install, waterproof and resistant to bacteria and germs. These floors are available in a range of designs and colours which can certainly ease the decision-making process.
Corridors and Clinical Areas
Just like the entrance, these two areas also deal with a lot with foot traffic and transporting heavy loads like med carts, wheelchairs, equipment carts and so on. So, it goes without saying that these areas are also in need of highly durable, easy to install and easy to maintain floor.
Such floors are the rubber and vinyl options. Both of these can meet the aforementioned requirements along with saving you installation time. This is because they come with pre-applied adhesive on the backing.
They also come with protective coatings that are resistant to scratches and other types of damage. Both rubber and vinyl come in a variety of textures, colours and patterns, out of which vinyl floors are more soothing (offering more natural textures like wood and stone).
Emergency & Operating Rooms
Since in these areas different kinds of surgeries and operations take place, the flooring solution used needs to meet all of the strict infection control requirements. They need to be easy to clean, smooth and anti-slippery, and vinyl tiles, vinyl sheets and linoleum fulfill all of these requirements. They are a great fit for such environments as they come with special coatings that can resist chemical staining from medical products and body fluid stains.
Nurse Stations & Treatment Areas
Although in the past linoleum and vinyl composition tiles were the mainly used floor types in these rooms, nowadays, luxury vinyl tiles (LVT) and bio-based tile (BBT) have taken over. However, it’s not strange to see sheet tile flooring made of low-VOC materials in such rooms in some hospitals. The reason for this is their protective coating which makes them resistant to scratches which minimises the need for waxing, buffing and chemical cleaning.
Patient Rooms
Nowadays, in most of the hospitals, patient rooms are designed to mimic a home-like environment. Since these are the rooms that don’t require aseptic flooring, the choice of materials, adhesives and installation methods is wider. Luxury vinyl tiles, linoleum and sheet tiles are the most common choices as they come with plenty of options that mimic stone, wood, tweed and many other natural looks. Besides being easy to install, these floor types are also easy to clean and maintain. Although not that popular, textile flooring is also an option for patient rooms. This flooring is made of materials that can give a carpet-like feel with the durability and performance of tiles.
Cafeterias
The floors in these areas need to be stain-resistant, slip-retardant and easy to clean. Generally speaking, these hospital areas require patterned and textured floors so that scuffs and scratches can be less visible. Since hospital cafeterias need to promote relaxation and reduce stress, sheet vinyl, LVT and tiles are the mainly used options. Except for being durable and easy to maintain, they offer great design versatility with lots of colours and textures.