Hendricks County Hospital

Hendricks Regional Health was interested in an assessment of noise in certain wards of their main hospital.

They contracted with Soundscape Engineering to survey three units: Intensive Care Unit, Medical Unit, and Surgical Unit. The survey included measuring sound levels and observing noise sources, relationships between the physical environment and noise, and relationships between operations and noise. In addition to multiple noise sources, physical characteristics of each unit, such as ceiling and wall materials, were noted in the assessment.

With the goal of increasing patient satisfaction with the acoustic environment, Soundscape's recommendations included increasing the background noise levels in patient rooms by installing a sound masking system, directional speakers in patient rooms for TV watching, implementing a zoned overhead paging system, and investigating whether appliances are functioning properly.