
We provide fully integrated facility solutions that ensure the execution of capital projects across markets, offering local presence and global reach to the private and public sectors.
With broad-based expertise across disciplines, we are an unparalleled source for performance-driven facilities built to deliver, from concept to ribbon-cutting.
With a broad range of in-house engineering expertise, we can optimize your current operations or take your new project from concept to completion, providing unrivaled service and results.
Haskell is a global network of experts providing integrated design, engineering, construction and professional services to clients and communities.
Home / News & Insights / Watch Your Step! The Importance of Flooring Selections in Healthcare Spaces
As a healthcare interior designer, I am often asked why design is needed in healthcare. Once I overcome my initial shock and dismay, I respond that healthcare environments are some of the most difficult areas to design and construct because of their unique requirements and challenges. My focus as a designer is to enhance the experience, quality, and safety of healthcare environments for all users. This requires specialized experience in the healthcare market where I apply my understanding of clinical environments and functions of use with my knowledge of design principles and material types appropriate for these spaces.
Hospitals often include elements of design reminiscent of other markets. For instance, gift shops take cues from retail design, dining areas from restaurant design, administrative areas from corporate design, and patient rooms from hospitality design. What is unique to healthcare design is that designers must provide solutions that users expect from their interactions in these other markets in a way that meets the intense use of healthcare spaces.
Perhaps the most difficult area to address in healthcare design is flooring selection. Flooring not only covers the widest area of space in an interior environment, but it comes into direct contact with a wide variety of objects ranging from foot traffic, carts and equipment, and maintenance routines.
Designers are continuously presented with information regarding the performance, sustainability, and maintenance of various materials, but how should we make our decisions and ultimately pose suggestions to our clients regarding the best materials for their applications? When determining the best flooring types I routinely evaluate past performance, ease of maintenance, and any code requirements based on the clinical setting.
Perhaps the best indicator of how a material will perform is how it has fared in similar areas of use in the same facility. If there is no history for the use of a material within a facility, we often look to case studies. However, because visitor types, foot traffic volumes, and maintenance routines may differ, what works in one space may not work in another, so discussions should be held with the client when utilizing case studies as a basis of performance.
Advancements in flooring materials coupled with the demand for sustainability have led to an increase in finishes that are marketed as “low-maintenance.” While flooring materials have certainly improved over the past 15 years, no flooring is truly “no maintenance.” When selecting flooring for healthcare spaces, it is best to consider the suggested maintenance of a product and how that affects the function of the space. For instance, if a flooring material meets the budgeted price and aligns with the intended aesthetic of the space but would require consistent maintenance in a highly trafficked area, then it would not be an appropriate solution.
Another factor affecting flooring selections in healthcare environments is adherence to any necessary codes and guidelines such as those provided by the Facility Guidelines Institute. For the safety of both patients and staff, maintaining appropriate slip resistances, fire ratings, dimensional stability, and rolling load weights are important characteristics to consider. Understanding which codes must be followed in each jurisdiction will provide a baseline for the selection of materials, but abiding by the guidelines set forth by the FGI is an industry best practice.
In addition to performance, maintenance, and code requirements, factors affecting material selection can include cost, life expectancy, sustainability, acoustics, and infection control. Prior to making finish selections, it is important to prioritize these factors by what is most important to the client and the intended use of the space. For instance, if life expectancy, ease of maintenance, and aesthetics are top priorities in a lobby space, terrazzo flooring is a great option, so long as the budget allows for the higher price point. If the budget doesn’t allow for terrazzo, porcelain tile is often proposed as a substitute with the understanding that while it lowers the price point, porcelain tile requires more maintenance than terrazzo.
Accounting for these factors, it is important to have discussions with the decision makers on the client side to finalize flooring material selections. Input is necessary from not only client leadership but also clinical staff, environmental services, and facility management. Creating a steering committee composed of representatives from each of these departments provides varied insight into the expectations of a material as well as its intended function. Through discussions with the steering committee, analysis of product data and testing, and a designer’s experience in the healthcare market, material options can be presented that are functionally appropriate while maintaining the aesthetic vision of space.
Haskell delivers $2+ billion annually in Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) and Consulting solutions to assure certainty of outcome for complex capital projects worldwide. Haskell is a global, fully integrated, single-source design-build and EPC firm with over 2,600 highly specialized, in-house design, construction and administrative professionals across industrial and commercial markets. With 25+ office locations around the globe, Haskell is a trusted partner for global and emerging clients.
Architecture is a profession and a passion for Geoff Parker. A lifelong resident of the Oklahoma City area, he also considers...
Janel LeGard consistently draws on her upbringing, education and career at Haskell, where she is a Senior Design Manager,...
The practice whereby a physician operates on patients in 2 overlapping rooms is called a flip room. The physician must be...
The source of many complaints and a great risk for sanitation and safety, temperature and humidity (T&H) control in...
In a project that has been novel on numerous counts, Orlando Health and Haskell partnered to bring the state-of-the-art...
Walk the halls of Haskell’s Jacksonville, Florida, headquarters and you’ll see all the signs of a thriving design and construction...
People are innately driven to interact with nature, and biophilic design is an approach that accommodates this desire...
The effects of climate change on healthcare and the effects of healthcare on climate change are inextricably linked. At...
In the year and a half since Jennifer O’Donnell spearheaded its formation and became its first president, the Charlotte,...
After a yearlong effort, the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) has released its VA Task Force 2023 Report,...
Denise Muth was a single mother starting her climb up the construction ranks before anyone had seen a laptop or a cell phone...
Working at Haskell in any of our architectural studios is a positive and optimistic design experience that promotes successful...
Ted Moore’s journey to becoming the 2023 President of the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) began in 2010...
Relationships are the foundation of good business, and building them takes time and patience. In the design world, that...
People use that Contact Us link up at the top of the Haskell.com website for all sorts of reasons, but as far as anyone knows,...
When treating heart conditions, time is often measured in a matter of minutes, or even seconds. The Haskell Healthcare...
Since the release of our first report on upgrading to meet USP 797 and USP 800 requirements, we have received so many requests...
Pharmacy requirements are evolving, and requirements for the physical spaces that pharmacies occupy have tightened...
Like most people, within hours of purchasing my first iPhone, I discovered game apps. Since that time I have spent entirely...
Taking a holistic approach to projects is a hallmark of Haskell’s work. Nowhere is this more true than in its healthcare...
Early in the planning stages of the Borowy Family Children’s Critical Care Tower Frank Brooks walked through an area in...
With the healthcare needs of the surrounding community growing and changing, administrators of Mease Countryside Hospital...
Free-Standing Emergency Departments (FSEDs) are, by definition, a community’s link to healthcare when residents need...
The Association of Medical Facility Professionals (AMFP) has formed a chapter in Charlotte, North Carolina, its ninth...
It’s common to hear the phrase “Day in the Life” (DITL) during the activation of a new healthcare space, but what does that...
Scripting, or a standardized response, is part of everyday life. Order a cheeseburger, and the cashier asks if you want...
As the world marks two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare operations and construction industries continue...
The strategic plan that guides development for the next two decades and underpins the very identity of the Town of Orange...
Medical planners often stay tucked away at their desks, blocking floorplan concepts, creating schematic plans and supporting...
Through a truly collaborative effort that ultimately would span five years and six major phases, Haskell Healthcare recently...
High-quality design has a profound ability to affect our experience and perception of space. In addition to helping providers...
Given that one out of every eight women born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer, scheduling a diagnostic scan or...
Newly named Vice President and Consulting Services Division Leader at Haskell, Kevin Meek might seem far from his roots...
I am often approached by healthcare facilities regarding soiling or staining on their furniture, cracked upholstery,...
We as humans are configured a certain way. We all have the same systems – like circulatory, digestive, nervous – that work...
Aging infrastructure in healthcare facilities represents significant cost and risk, and it has tremendous bearing on...
Post-discharge infections are one of the leading causes of hospital readmissions. Medicare payments typically make...
As recently as 100 years ago, lawyers, notaries, and others were performing the work of engineers despite their lack of...
Population health has changed ambulatory investment. While in the past healthcare systems looked for opportunities...
Concrete slabs contain and continually absorb and emit moisture over time, potentially causing costly problems with...
Haskell’s Healthcare Design Director, for which the company is now recruiting, is a position that embodies two of the concepts...
Centralized care is emerging to reform patient care operations by generating real-time, actionable analytics and proactive...
Virtual reality has come a long way from its original uses in video games and military training exercises. Now this technology...
In the same way that Design-Build project delivery revolutionized the construction industry by enhancing design and...
We have learned a lot from the outbreak of COVID-19, and we will continue to quantify the magnitude of the strain this pandemic...
One of the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and extended lockdowns has been unused or ill-used office...
Health systems are seeing changing demands on their existing ambulatory asset portfolio, in both services offered and...
As designers, we often rely on visualization strategies such as 3D modeling, renderings, and video fly-throughs to convey...
Many buildings today are clad with aluminum skins, crisp metal panels in both simple and complex shapes, with limitless...
Telehealth visits, plexiglass partitions, taped-off waiting room chairs, hand sanitizer stations, and masks are just...
Cuando Haskell fue fundada en 1965, los arquitectos no podían trabajar en la misma organización que el personal de construcción...
The health sector has experienced tremendous disruption in the past year, but one healthcare trend had been gaining steam...
COVID-19 has forced the healthcare world into uncharted territory. Protecting patients from those who are contagious...
To say that 2020 was difficult for hospitals and health systems would be an understatement. COVID-19 wreaked havoc on healthcare,...
Yesterday we had a plan on how to improve our supply chain process. We looked at supplier consolidation, our distribution...
Intensive care units were born out of the development of new technologies to treat the most critical patients. The first...
You don’t necessarily have to be in the healthcare industry to see that COVID-19 has changed the way we approach the delivery...
The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems, and the costs associated with treating these patients have cut...
MTV’s 1981 debut of the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” instantly changed how we enjoyed music. We no longer had to...
“Who are the young men we are asking to go into action against such solid odds? You’ve met them, you know. They are the best...
The public health crisis of the past nine months has shone a spotlight on the tireless care that doctors, nurses, and other...
2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily lives considerably: healthcare...
With such a profound shift in how to conduct business in a pandemic, determining how to conduct tasks in a sustainable way...
We’ve heard the expression “Hindsight is 20/20,” but that doesn’t mean we have to move forward blindly. Artificial intelligence...
What if we could be proactive about behavioral health rather than reactive? We cannot control people or their behaviors,...
As the coronavirus overwhelmed the New York metropolitan area in March and construction sites shut down en masse, Haskell’s...
When Haskell was founded in 1965, architects couldn’t work in the same organization as construction staff. The American...
Change management, the controlled implementation of required changes within a system, is a phrase that is overused. But...
In my previous blog, I discussed the clash prevention process and how Haskell is using that to advance our designs and deliverables....
The one thing that the current pandemic is teaching us is that technology is going to play a larger part in how healthcare...
We as designers are hands-on, collaborative, and interactive types. We enjoy the opportunity to get together in one room...
It’s 2020, and everything seems to be experiencing a revolution. Articles use popularized clichés like “the new normal...
Since 1892, Haskell has embraced the evolution of documentation methods ranging from 2D pen/pencil and paper and 2D electronic...
As August began, most Haskell interns returned to their respective schools with new skills, new stories and new experiences...
Five years ago, Nathan Faloon and his family sought relief from the harsh winters of New England. Hailing from Dover-Foxcroft,...
You walk down a corridor on your way to an operating room. On your left is a scrub sink. You pause and take a quick peek through...
The last few months have brought forth many discussions surrounding the effects of COVID-19, both current and long-lasting....
Read Part 1 to learn more about how to coordinate your response to a pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities...
The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the need for the healthcare industry to rethink not only our emergency preparedness...
Architects and designers are immersed in a challenge to create healthier built environments that address the coronavirus...
As cities and states continue to reopen, the thought on everyone’s mind is, “How do we re-enter public spaces and businesses...
The health of humankind is a complex and fragile thing – a fact highlighted by our current world pandemic. So much of who we...
We live in a world of competing priorities. Your spouse wants you home for dinner, your boss wants you in the office putting...
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” — Benjamin Franklin COVID-19 will create an expanded need for...
Do you use a smartwatch? Have you ever installed a healthcare, diet, or workout app? Or have you ever put in personal information...
Read Part 1 to learn how a CSC can protect your supply chain during a public health threat or natural disaster. The current...
Let’s imagine for an uncomfortable minute that viral outbreaks become the “new normal.” Yes, a vaccine will probably be...
The healthcare supply chain is complex, and the role it plays in supporting patient care is critical. Around the world,...
Design is a collaborative process. Everyone on the team has a talent and expertise to offer the collective. From our internal...
Back in August I wrote a piece about the future of ICUs and discussed the unlikely potential of the hospital of the future...
While emergency departments and critical care units have been inundated with patients due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many...
As we define our new normal based on our COVID-19 experience, each of our perspectives will begin to shape healthcare design...
You stepped up when the crisis demanded. You were there for your community and your patients. Now it’s time to look toward...
If you had not started making shifts toward comprehensive telehealth before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, you have...
As we continue to help clients with their ability to prepare for or deal with patient care surges due to the COVID-19 pandemic,...
The surge of patients caused by COVID-19 will undoubtedly affect how healthcare is delivered once the current situation...
The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted a lot of focus and evaluation to the design of the contemporary hospital patient room....
There is nothing like a sudden and drastic change to make you have major epiphanies, and the social distancing measures...
As part of my job as a construction administrator, I conduct periodic site visits to our projects under construction. The...
It’s been just over five years since my father died due to complications from acute myeloid leukemia. When he was most vulnerable,...
Wearable health technologies are not a new concept. From simple step counters to watches and apps that monitor our activity...
In the same way that it pioneered the Design-Build method of project delivery decades ago, Haskell is distinguishing itself...
Health systems, particularly complex areas such as the emergency and surgical services departments, have long used computer...
Every day we hear about big data, the need to harness it, and the need to analyze it. In doing so, we are promised that big data...
Say you’re an architect designing a new building of Type I or Type II non-combustible construction. You submit your plans...
Often, the value of an architect is measured by a flashy edifice, a well-thought-out plan, or a functional sequence of movement...
In our last blog post on activation planning, we emphasized that implementing even a single process change in a new building...
Healthcare costs in the United States are the highest in the world, accounting for 17% of our GDP and per capita expenditure...
Attending a conference focused on “patient-centered care” means that every session you go to is based on the patient first....
Trying to juggle work, attempts at a social life, staying physically active, and keeping up with adult tasks (i.e., oil...
Women have extensive buying power and influence, driving 70-80% of consumer purchasing.[1] So it is no surprise that women...
In the landscape of corporate America, there are some well-known examples of “design-centric” companies. At the top of...
In a NICU attention is focused first and foremost on the needs of the neonate. For an infant being treated in the NICU, clinical...
Anyone who knows me knows I am a gadget nerd. From the latest iPhone release to my Bluetooth-powered coffee mug, I love what...
Children’s hospitals in a lot of ways face the same challenges that general acute care hospitals do: inpatient demand declines,...
We often get asked to program and design observation units for clients, whether it’s in the master planning stage or the...
As communities grew into permanent towns, it was largely due to the area’s available materials as well as the town’s mostly...
My favorite find from our recent office move: A Magic 8 Ball. Even after being stored away in a back closet for over a decade,...
My job is designing the plumbing and medical gas systems for healthcare facilities, but my story here is not one of technical...
For years telehealth has been an untapped resource for many healthcare organizations due to concerns around reimbursement...
Strokes affect 800,000 people in the U.S. each year at a cost of $34 billion, according to the CDC. [1] It is the leading cause...
According to a new study by Avalere Health and Physicians Advisory Institute (PAI), the number of physician medical practices...
“The following information and design information enclosed in this package is intended to establish a constant level...
As highlighted in part 1 of this blog, rigorous analyses are performed by the Haskell operations team to inform the right...
Ambulatory centers have been touted as convenient locations for patients to take care of clinical, diagnostic, or other...
Have you ever played with a sliding puzzle? A framed game, solved by shifting tiled pieces around one another to reveal an...
As insurers and patient consumerism drive site-of-care decisions, many orthopedic procedures that historically have...
Annually, we take a moment to celebrate and reflect on architecture during ‘Architecture Week’. We recognize good design,...
Engineering system design and installation for behavior health spaces and buildings require a different approach than...
An ongoing debate in inpatient behavioral healthcare has been the benefits of private versus semi-private rooms. While...
As behavioral health disorders become more prevalent and rise as a national priority, transforming our thinking on when...
When designing for healthcare, we often talk about patient experience. Several design features directly affect patient...
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger] Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing....
Either directly or indirectly, many of us have been affected in some way by one of the more than 100 different forms of cancer....
You think you’re the cancer center design expert, right? You have all the programmatic and planning elements covered:...
Researchers and clinicians are constantly developing and testing new cancer treatments in the hopes of finding the ever-elusive...
Reliable medical gas and vacuum systems are at the pinnacle of patient care. They provide life-supporting gases that are...
Preventing infections is a challenge in any emergency department. In particular, communicable infections like tuberculosis,...
Projects, like people, are all unique in their own way. One might conclude that because Haskell specializes in healthcare...
“Security presence” in the emergency department can be as simple as an officer sitting in a chair at the greeter desk. Or...
Most hospital facilities we work with have chilled water system issues. These issues tend to manifest as hot offices, unstable...
Many hospital facilities receive a plethora of “too hot/too cold” complaints from staff. Maintenance personnel may have...
With the recent reports of Legionella in the news, many facility managers wonder if an outbreak could happen at their hospital....
With population health changing the healthcare industry, a different mindset challenges us to rethink ambulatory real...
Many emergency departments (EDs) care for the types of detained patients who require a legal blood draw to validate alcohol...
I’m on a campaign to remove hallway beds from emergency departments across the country. Perhaps this seems like an unorthodox...
Whether you’re talking about the people, spaces or equipment in an emergency department, one can always find ways to increase...
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the scope, benefits, and different types of hospital transition planning. In Part...
Most hospital department leaders receive robust support, strategies, and tools to guide career transitions. Few, if...
Do these sound familiar? Patients must wait more than three weeks for an appointment for a non-urgent visit such as a yearly...
Use of Scribes Hospitals increasingly depend on physicians and nurses to capture data to help them meet reform requirements...
If you don’t know for certain that a process change will work before you try it, you’re guessing. People guess because it...
Imagine hearing this at a conference: “Success resulted in decreased revenue for our healthcare system.” My first thought:...
Just as in a lifesaving surgical procedure, every minute counts when optimizing the operating room (OR.) Saving even one...
There is a lot of misinformation swirling around about how hospitals can benefit from Facility Condition Assessments...
So you think you have a big chaotic mess and don’t know where to start? The Emergency Department (ED) boards patients. Surgery...
“We have to cut nursing costs” are dangerous words when we don’t know what it actually costs for nurses to deliver patient...
When you know how many patients are coming down the pipe, you reap more than just shortening their wait time for a bed. You...
When cutting costs, many hospitals trim less expensive staff, like techs and transporters. You may suspect this is a bad...
Maybe you have a new emergency department (ED) under construction, or work in a newly built ED. But what if it wasn’t designed...
After every conference presentation we give, at least one clinical department director will approach us and proclaim,...
Every system has surges in volume, whether they are predictable or unpredictable surges. Most facilities were not designed...
Every system has surges in volume, whether they are predictable or unpredictable surges. Most facilities were not designed...
When you decide to buy a new car, what do you do? Perhaps, browse several dealerships to see where you can get the most value....
For the past two decades, many healthcare providers have been developing networks of primary, secondary and tertiary...
With the healthcare landscape in constant flux, providers are challenged to be more accountable across the continuum...
Healthcare Planning, Design and Construction (PD&C) departments traditionally have delivered in an inconsistent...
For many healthcare facility directors, capacity planning presents a very real, challenging and ongoing issue. Departmental...
Success as a healthcare organization relies heavily on the capability to provide quality care to patients. Like any other...
Hospitals find it increasingly difficult to keep balance sheets in the black while maintaining quality patient care....
701 San Marco Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL 32207
© 2025 Haskell. All rights reserved.
We collect basic analytics to improve your experience. No personal data is stored. By continuing to use this site, you acknowledge this. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.