The reception area of a hospital can be a fairly loaded location. Often it’s the first place visitors and patients alike have a face-to-face interaction with the staff and the environment. It’s also typically the first chance a hospital has to project a healing environment to those who enter the doors. The reception desk is a big part of that environment. It must build a positive impression from the very start, and there are a number of key hospital casework design features you must consider if you’re looking to create that perfect image.

• Create a Path: The ideal hospital reception desk will help create a path for those entering the hospital to find their destinations. There are a number of ways hospital casework can do this. Start by integrating the organizational aspects necessary for volunteers to properly do their jobs. You’ll also want to consider the size of the design. The larger the hospital, the larger the number of volunteers working there at any given time. That may mean that you need a far larger reception desk.
• Build Comfort: Your volunteers and hospital employees tend to work long shifts without relief, and for them, the desk should be the perfect oasis. It should include the ideal features necessary to ensure they can do their jobs well and in complete comfort. They aren’t the only people to consider, though. You must also take into account those on the other side of the desk. Make certain it’s the right height and offers any necessary added features to put patients and visitors at ease as well.
• Design for Privacy: Health privacy regulations abound these days, and a custom hospital desk needs as much privacy as any other space in your hospital, so make certain that you design a desk that offers plenty of privacy for those on both sides. You may want to physically separate part of it for confidential sessions. You may also want to position computer work areas to ensure they cannot be seen by those outside of the reception area.
• Future Proof: It’s tough to know what the next wave of hospital design will incorporate, but to any extent possible, work to future-proof your reception desk so it will last well into the next generation. The simple truth is that patients will soon likely be able to swipe a card or use a fingerprint scanner to check in. Relatives may be able to do the same. If you know what’s coming next, integrate the right features now to help make your hospital the trendsetter instead of the follower.

There’s little doubt about it – hospital reception desks aren’t just important, they’re absolutely essential. Contact Carroll Seating Company today and learn more about how we can help you find the right hospital reception desk to meet your needs.