The next time you or a loved one is a patient at Porter, you should notice a subtle difference. Not loud or boisterous, the change has to do with what you won’t hear. Believing that quiet promotes healing; Porter has quietly instituted a campaign aimed at diminishing noise at the bedside, in the nursing stations and throughout the health system.
Whether that has meant oiling squeaky wheels, turning beepers to vibrate or keeping hallway conversations to a minimum, Porter has been doing whatever it takes to minimize noise. Additionally, noise blockers – such as ear plugs and ear phones – are available, as are sleep masks to help patients keep volumes down and visual intrusions at bay.
Known as Shhh – Silent Hospitals Help Healing – the campaign for quiet got its start at Porter when the health system began looking at innovative ways to help patients heal.
“Florence Nightingale was concerned about noxious noise 150 years ago. Today, we know noxious noise increases the amount of pain medication used, patient anxiety and staff stress levels,” said Elaine Merkel, RN, director of the NICU and Pediatric units at Porter. “We learned years ago that infants react to noise. Oxygen requirements increase as noise levels increase. Babies, especially premature infants, have fragile central nervous systems. We have changed many practices in our NICU to minimize noise.”
Porter’s Chief Nursing Officer Suzette Mahneke, RN, MSN, said throughout the health system, the goal is to minimize noise.
“We know quiet is restful and that patients need rest for healing,” she said. “Most importantly, we were aiming to create the most therapeutic environment possible that would be conducive to healing.”
Mahneke said the committee charged with subduing noise levels at the Valparaiso and Portage hospital campuses adapted their recommendations to meet the needs of the health system’s patients.
Noise reduction steps that have been taken include: padding the lids on clothes hampers, monitoring equipment for repair and nurses giving report in a secluded area rather than in the nursing stations.
Mahneke said all of this was undertaken to keep Porter’s two hospital campuses as quiet zones.