Flooring for healthcare or medical facility should be chosen keeping in mind the daily operational requirements. Whether it is a hospital, rehabilitation center, dental clinic, or doctor’s office, it is important to understand the specific flooring requirements in each case. Though you’ll find a multitude of flooring options in the market, you cannot just settle for any product, which is durable and attractive. Before you head out to purchase flooring material for a healthcare facility, you should define the exact needs of the kind of facility it is. Selection of the right product is paramount to ensuring the success of your hospital or medical facility.
If you have some confusion or are unsure as to which flooring material will be ideal for a healthcare facility you run, it is always best to seek the help of a flooring specialist or an experienced flooring contractor.
Consider the Specific Requirements of the Type of Facility You Run
“Healthcare facility” is a broad term. While there are many different types of medical or healthcare facilities, each of these facilities may also have different areas with varying requirements in terms of which flooring material will be most suited. So, you need to first understand the specific needs.
The healthcare industry includes these fields:
- Hospitals
- Nursing Homes
- Home Health Offices
- Clinics
- Blood Banks
- Outpatient Care Centers
- Birth Centers
- Imaging and Radiology Centers
- Rehabilitation Centers
- Urgent Care
There are many other fields. Not just this, every facility further has multiple areas inside it for carrying out specific functions or services. For example, a medical facility may have various areas such as entrance areas, corridors, clinical areas, patient rooms, emergency rooms, cafeteria, etc. The point of discussing this is to give you an idea as to how the actual flooring requirements may vary from one type of facility to another and one area in a facility to another.
One flooring material that you lay down in the entrance area of a medical facility may not be ideal for the patient room in the facility. In the entrance room, you will want to install a flooring product that looks aesthetically pleasing. It should also be highly resilient to cope with high foot traffic. On the other hand, the flooring in a patient room should make the patient feel at home. Here, you need to install a product that creates a warm and cozy atmosphere. It must look and feel less like that of an institution. Likewise, you need to take the specific flooring requirement of each type of facility as well as the area in the facility where you plan to lay down a flooring material. Only then will you be able to pick the right healthcare flooring solution.
Top Flooring Options for Your Healthcare Facility
Given below are some of the most preferred flooring options for various types of medical facilities. Each of these products has its own unique features to suit the varying needs of the type of healthcare facility you have.
Luxury Vinyl Tile
Abbreviated as LVT, luxury vinyl tiles are one of the most ideal choices for healthcare flooring. This flooring material is highly resilient and designed to deal with high amounts of foot traffic on a daily basis. The best part about the product is that it doesn’t take much effort to maintain it in a proper manner. Even the least amount of care and maintenance will keep LVT flooring in good condition for years in a row. The product is also waterproof, which means you don’t have to worry about damage done to floors due to moisture. At the same time, it is easy to install as well as customize LVT as per specific design needs.
Commercial LVT, in particular, comes along with a new design technology: the photographic print process. This means you can have installers customize the floor design to match the overall decor of the facility.
Luxury Vinyl Planks
For healthcare facilities, LVP or luxury vinyl planks is a suitable option. There are valid reasons behind this product gaining popularity in the healthcare industry all over. It is usual for patients to experience a certain level of anxiety when they arrive at the door of a hospital, nursing home, or dentist’s office. If you install LVP in the patient rooms, you will be able to reduce the anxiety that patients often feel. LVP flooring provides a look that resembles natural wood, thereby making patients feel a home-like atmosphere. Once installed inside the facility, luxury vinyl planks very much look like hardwood planks. Most of all, LVP products are waterproof which makes them the best match for your needs.
For more details on LVP products and the available designs, contact one of our experts at the Minuteman Floors. We deal in premium quality LVP products as well as provide professional installation services.
Linoleum
At one time, linoleum was a popular trend for commercial flooring. Even today, it is considered to be a preferred choice for installation in healthcare facilities. This product is made from natural ingredients including linseed oil, jute fiber, and cork dust. Being an eco-friendly product, linoleum is well-suited to the hygienic needs of a medical facility. The product’s antimicrobial property makes it a top choice for laying down in the entrance and other high-traffic areas of a hospital, nursing care facility, doctor’s office, home health office, etc.
Vinyl Composition Tiles
VCT or vinyl composition tiles are a finished flooring material, designed to suit the day-to-day needs of commercial facilities. The product is extremely long-lasting while also being an economical option. However, VCT flooring requires a high level of maintenance.
Sheet Vinyl
This product has remained a favorite of the healthcare industry for several years. Sheet vinyl is designed and installed in a manner, which allows for the minimum number of seams on the floor. As a result of high seamlessness, sheet vinyl ranks an excellent score in terms of aesthetics. If you look for a healthcare flooring option that will last long as well as blend with the overall decor of the facility in an incredible manner, sheet vinyl is the way to go. The product is also highly preferable in terms of protection against microorganisms. Sheet vinyl is available in multiple sizes and thicknesses to match specific flooring needs.
Floating Vinyl Floors
Free-floating vinyl sheets and planks are designed to be installed without doing plenty of subfloor preparations. The product is called free-floating because it is placed on the subfloor without adhesives. Floating vinyl sheets and planks come along with an interlocking system to sit tightly on the floor. One of the key benefits of such flooring is reduced installation time. In critical care facilities, swift installation means minimal disruption.
Hopefully, the list will help you make the right decision and install flooring materials that will suit the daily needs of your healthcare facility. If you want detailed information on any of these products or how the product will be installed, feel free to consult with one of the experts at the Minuteman Floors.
Healthcare Flooring Specifications
Selection of the right healthcare flooring product requires careful consideration. While you have a clear understanding of what you actually want, you should also have a closer look at the features of a potential product. The flooring material that you choose will need to be a good match for the everyday needs in your medical care facility, nursing home, emergency care, doctor’s clinic, etc. Given below are some of the key specifications for healthcare flooring.
Hygiene
No matter what type of healthcare facility you operate, hygiene will always remain the most important concern. The ideal flooring product for a medical facility should have antimicrobial properties. This will ensure that microorganisms and germs do not have a chance to spread.
Acoustic
Inside a medical facility, noise levels must be kept at a minimum. When it comes to acoustics or noise control, the flooring product you select plays a key role. You need to go for an option that absorbs the most sound so that there is no disturbance to the patients and the medical staff.
Cushioning
The flooring material you select for your medical care facility should feel soft under the feet. The staff inside a facility spend most of their time standing or running around from one area or department to another. If the floor feels too hard under the feet, doctors, nurses and other staff will easily get exhausted in a few hours. On the other hand, flooring materials that feel comfortable to walk on will make work easy and keep the leg-joints safe in the long term.
Ambiance
A hospital, nursing home, or doctor’s clinic is a place where emotions often run high. Patients and their families have a feeling of anxiety. That is exactly why the overall ambiance in the facility needs to be a calming one. If the aesthetics of the facility have the potential to make people feel peaceful and calm, this will make a huge difference. So, you need to keep this in mind to be able to select a flooring material in order to create the right kind of ambiance.
In addition to these key features, you should also remain concerned about the level of maintenance a specific flooring product will need. You should prefer a material that is easy to install and remove (for renovation work). You should also consider a flooring that is easy to maintain in the long term so as to minimize disruption.
Talk to a Healthcare Flooring Specialist
The purposes and needs of a healthcare facility vary from one area or room to another. It is very important to weigh all the factors in order to choose the most ideal flooring option for a facility. If you have a question or need expert help with the selection of the right type of flooring for your medical facility, head over to the Minuteman Floors in Manchester, New Hampshire. We deal in a broad range of premium quality flooring materials well-suited for hospitals, nursing care facilities, urgent care centers, doctor’s clinics, rehabilitation centers, etc. Our technicians are expertly trained in the installation of all healthcare flooring solutions.
For a consultation with one of our specialists, give our office a quick phone call or write us an email using the contact form.