How do you know if a state-of-the-art environment is quiet enough to promote healing of the sickest patients, tiny infants who cannot speak? In response to national evidence suggesting that noise levels have a negative impact on critically ill newborns, the Renée Schine Crown Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Northwestern Memorial's Prentice Women's Hospital was carefully designed to be a calming and quiet environment. As opposed to caring for the infants in an open medical unit, private, family-focused infant bays were created to provide families with privacy and less noise. In addition, sound-absorbing finishes, muted staff-communication technologies and off-unit space for family relaxation, education and consultation all help protect uninterrupted sleep for the 1,500 infants treated here each year. Still, the effectiveness of the design is not taken for granted. As part of a two-day environmental study conducted during the new hospital's first year of operation, minute-by-minute readings in the NICU recorded noise levels and helped the hospital ensure that the environment lived up to its promise. It does.
Related Links: Prentice Women's Hospital | Renée Schine Crown Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
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"These infants are extremely fragile and need to be protected from any unnecessary stimulation," said Susie Rosenberg, RN, MS, a clinical practice consultant in the NICU. "We've worked to create a quiet environment similar to what the infants would experience in the womb."
While parents visited with infants, trained observers carefully recorded all environmental noises that they were able to hear. This two-part study was conducted first in the former Prentice and then in the new, replacement facility.
To better understand the sound that reaches critically ill infants, microphones were placed inside isolettes. The study was coordinated by the NICU staff, along with the hospital's Safety Management and Planning and Construction departments.
Sound picked up by microphones was synchronized to the minute-by-minute human observations in order to tell the complete story.
Microphones were mounted within some of the 86 family-focused infant bays and helped measure the effectiveness of sliding glass doors and curtains that create a more personal space for each child and family.
More than 130 employees provided feedback on the noise levels, natural light and overall physical environment of the NICU by participating in two related surveys.
