A calming influence

Facility: Florida Hospital Celebration Health
Location: Celebration, Fla.
Designer: Bear Facts Entertainment

Florida Hospital Celebration Health, Celebration, Fla., took a unique design approach to take the fear and anxiety out of imaging tests. Seaside Imaging is a virtual beach environment that immerses patients in a relaxing experience.

Hallways and flooring are designed to look like beachfront boardwalks. Walls are covered in three-dimensional, beach-themed murals. Patients change clothes in beach cabanas and don surfer shorts and tops instead of hospital gowns.

The computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment are covered with 3-D sand castles and coral reef. Patients can hear sounds of the ocean and birds through the built-in sound system and see beach images projected on the ceiling above the CT scanner.

The virtual environment has proven beneficial to patients and the hospital alike. The sedation rate for adults having an MRI fell from 6.5 percent to 2 percent a year after opening. The cancellation rate dropped by 50 percent.