Healthcare facilities usually incite fear and anxiety in patients. As the owner of a healthcare franchise business, how can you make your facility more comfortable and inviting for patients?
It’s normal for patients to associate healthcare facilities, particularly urgent care facilities, with fear, anxiety, and stress. Nevertheless, there are many ways to make your healthcare franchise deviate from this common notion. Here are some examples:
1. Pick comfortable furniture
If you’re looking for urgent care franchise business opportunities, you’ve probably seen waiting rooms that are full of plastic chairs that look far from comfortable. While plastic seating is the norm for urgent care lobbies, it doesn’t mean you can’t invest in plastic chairs that are as ergonomic as they can be. So instead of cheap and uncomfortable chairs, choose high-quality seating that won’t hurt to sit on even after a few hours.
It is also a good idea to put a few leather, water-proof sofas in the waiting room for people who require extra comfort, such as the elderly, pregnant women, and disabled people.
2. Hang artwork on the walls
A healthcare franchise doesn’t need to look dreary like a hospital with plain white walls. Buy eye-pleasing and inspiring pieces of artwork to give patients something to look at while they wait or undergo treatment. Aside from making your facility look more lively and less sterile, artwork can make subconsciously make patients and their families feel more optimistic.
3. Have some plants
Indoor plants are known to have a relaxing effect for people who see it, especially in a healthcare facility. They can also make healthcare staff feel less stressed while working. That said, buy some indoor plants to decorate waiting areas, staff rooms, and treatment rooms. They don’t have to be real, but it is recommended to buy real plants instead of fake ones to make the room smell fresher.
4. Remove clutter
Clutter can make people feel more stressed and uneasy, and you definitely don’t want that for both your staff and employees. Hence, get rid of things that your facility doesn’t need, such as outdated equipment, old reading material, and worn down furniture. Moreover, encourage your staff to keep their workspaces free from clutter as much as possible.
5. Repaint your walls
Sterile white is not always the most comforting color for a healthcare facility. Thus, consider repainting your walls with other light tones or pastel colors to make the space more inviting and pleasant for both patients and staff.
6. Provide comfort items
Help patients and families feel more relaxed during their wait by providing courtesy comfort items, such as coffee, tea, crackers, or juice at the lobby.
7. Train your staff well
Patients are essentially customers as well, so treat your patients as you would customers in any other business. Train staff on proper customer service. You want your patients to feel welcome and taken care of while in your facility, and your healthcare staff plays a major role in that.
Turning your healthcare franchise facility into a more inviting and patient-friendly space is more beneficial than you may think. Aside from being more relaxed while they wait for their turn or undergo treatment, patients are more likely to leave good reviews for your franchise, as well as recommend you to their friends and family. As the franchise owner, this is a golden opportunity that you don’t want to pass up.
