Hospitals Use Spa Amenities as Competitive Advantage
Maternity wards offer spa amenities like luxury bath products and massages
Sept. 16, 2011 — -- Not immune to the uncertain economy and tight-fisted consumers, more hospitals are offering amenities and facilities that mirror spa and hotel environments, especially in maternity wards.
The recently opened Family Birth Center at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wisc., features 37 Family Care "suites" that director Holly Halberslaben said new parents don't like to leave.
The suites feature double-beds, stone tile in the bathrooms and a shower with massage showerhead, back-massager and natural light through large windows. The hospital provides other hotel-like amenities, including shampoo and soap from French luxury brand l'Occitane, and a special menu from which new parents can choose meals.
"We modeled to make it more family centered and homelike," she said. "We know in the community we've always provided quality care but the enviornment we had didn't match. We wanted to make the rooms homey with a spa-like environment so it's relaxing."
Halberslaben said dads also like to take showers in the suites.
"People say, 'Oh my gosh, this is nicer than my house,'" Halberslaben said. "We say you deserve it because it's an important part of your life. Make it memorable."
The Family Birth Center, which delivers 3,400 babies a year, opened Dec. 22 and was last renovated in 1995.
The hospital also hired a design company, H. Marion Art Consulting Services, for new artwork, which was installed a year ago.
Jan Marion, president of the company, said the hospital has framed images in a palette of cool, muted blues and greens, with undertones of pastel colors. He said they compliment the spa-inspired colors of the units' walls taking into account the geographic location of the hospital.
"When we're designing for a hospital in the Midwest, we're not going to have mountains and waterfalls," he said. "We use design elements like prairie grass and organic imagery specific to the Midwest."
Marion, who describes as a turnkey art consulting business, said his healthcare clients began investing more money in 2009 to make facilities "warm, inviting, and comfortable."
He said the half dozen or so maternity wards, plus other healthcare providers, are looking for a "competitive edge."
"Where do you want your baby delivered? This hospital or one down the street?" he asked.
He said patients also ask how new the facilities are, so they may be renovated on a more frequently.
"Hospitals recognize that not only is artwork a necessary part of interior finish but they also understand that it's a marketing expense," Marion said. "A new family makes healthcare decisions that will have long lasting impact on a healthcare provider."
Another of Marion's clients is Saint Joseph Hospital's Family Birthplace in Chicago.
Ruth Koloms Gross, maternal child educator, agrees that hospitals are using amenities to have a competitive edge.
The hospital, which is located in the competitive healthcare region of Chicago, redecorated its maternity ward over the last year with a design that Koloms Gross describes as having "a more peaceful feel" that "convey a spa environment."
She said when people enter the unit, it is relaxing and pleasant, with some re-painted neutral tones that are "not too girly" or mauve. The hospital changed furniture and treatments for the windows, which overlook Lake Michigan, to softly filter outdoor lighting.
The hospital has several services for new parents, including an extra early breakfast meal for the new mother, dinner for the new father or partner, and a single room maternity care in which the same nurse cares for the baby and mother. The hospital has cross-trained staff to accommodate that service.
"You really get more holistic care that way," she said. "Mom and baby aren't really individuals. They have a symbiotic relationship."
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