Hospital ceilings are designed to be boring. In many hospitals, being admitted is an experience many would wish to avoid at all costs. The trauma is exacerbated by lying on a hospital bed, eyes looking up to a ceiling that is monotonously white.
But not all hospitals ceilings are built to be dull. In fact, being conscious of the stress that ceilings exert on patients, at times prolonging the healing process, 3rd Park Hospital has become one of the few hospitals giving patients a totally different experience. It has designed ceilings that are ‘alive’ and which provide patients an atmosphere of feeling rejuvenated. And it is not just the ceilings. The whole interior design of the hospital sought to purposely bring out an aesthetic feeling that enhances the healing process instead of making patients more traumatized.
“Most hospitals are generally boring and we wanted to make the interior of 3rd Park stand out and ensure it helps in the healing process,” said Maureen Ngunjiri, an interior designer.
The ceiling, however, is just one of the many features of 3rd Park Hospital, a boutique facility that is changing the face of healthcare provision in the country. Driven by its ‘we care’ motto, the hospital is determined to offer specialized medical care in a friendly environment that takes away the depressing feeling when one has to walk to a hospital.
“The dream of the client was to build a boutique hospital that is one of its kind. The whole idea was to create an environment where you don’t feel like you are in a hospital, something that is important in the healing process,” says Samwel Muriithi, Construction Project Manager. He adds this is something the contractor and a team of consultants have achieved in implementing the KSh1 billion project whose construction started in November last year and which is now operational.
Conceived by a team of renowned doctors, 3rd Park Hospital has a mission to offer innovative and advanced healthcare solutions while maintaining a focus on people, patients, healthcare professionals and medical trainees. Its vision is to give life comfort and healthcare through technology, cutting edge health care knowledge and experience offered by ethical and reputable doctors.
The hospital brings together numerous specialists under one roof in an effort to give patients the best that medical knowhow and technology can offer. Among the specialists in the hospital include gynecologists and surgeons – both minimal invasive and open surgeries, orthopedic surgeons, urologists, gastroenterologists, plastic surgeons, kidney and heart transplant specialists, ENT surgeons, pediatric surgeons, bariatric surgeons, neurosurgeon and IVF among others. The initiation of 3rd Park Hospital is based on a critical mass of specialist doctors with good reputation in their medical practice.
Of importance, 3rd Park Hospital has invested in ultra-modern facilities to guarantee provision of unrivaled medical services. “The facilities of the hospital are world class, and most have been supplied by top companies from across the globe,” explains Muriithi. He adds that being a compact and boutique facility with a bed capacity of 13 – five beds in private rooms, eight beds in the wards and two beds in the intensive care unit – the hospital had to invest in the best available facilities.
When it comes to facilities, the hallmark of 3rd Park Hospital is its theater, wards, conference/training hall among others. The hospital boasts a state-of-art surgical theater that is equipped with the latest technologies and medical equipment. The facility has hi-tech, highly accurate and safe surgical equipment and instruments to provide world-class surgical theater services not only to Kenyan patients but also patients from countries like Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan as well as West African nations. The theater is one of its kind in east and central Africa and was sourced from Italy.
In terms of the interior, the team made use of gypsum, wallpaper and other acoustic materials that have brought out an exquisite aura that is rare in hospitals. Even the choice of paint on the wall was well thought out, with factors like being anti-bacterial and dust proof being critical. In terms of lighting, the team avoided the cliché of using basically white like in most hospitals and went for a blend that include warm lighting. “We know the type of light and wall paints affect the psychology of people and we had to be very careful in our choice,” avers Maureen.
The conference/training hall is another high tech facility equipped with the latest communication devices that can facilitate trainees to follow a procedure being performed in the theater from the comfort of their seats while listening to the doctors through specialized speakers. Four ultra-sensitive microphones also enable them to communicate directly to the doctors in the theaters.
Apart from high-tech IT systems whose cyber security capabilities are also top notch, the hospital’s other systems like energy and water conservation, air-conditioning and security make it totally world class. The air conditioning, for instance, provides for clean air circulation thereby eliminating the ‘sick building syndrome’. In terms of security, the hospital has installed biometric access in all doors, motion sensors and CCTVs besides alarm systems and emergency exits in case of disasters like fire outbreaks.
“We want to ensure patients are treated and heal in an environment that offers comfort,” explains Muriithi. He adds the environment is also conducive for staff including the doctors, nurses and other support staff. This is evident from the moment someone walks out of the lift to the main reception areas, the various waiting areas, the patient’s changing room, the nurses’ station to the doctors’ lounge.
According to Muriithi, although implementation of the project encountered some challenges mainly caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the clear brief of the client in terms of wanting a boutique facility made the job fascinating. This is because the team working on the project did not have a ceiling on the budget. “This was a unique project because we did not work with a set budget. We had the freedom to source for the best in terms of materials, technology and even personnel,” he notes.
3rd Park Hospital is already proving to be a pioneer in catapulting medical care to the next level. In fact, in the coming months and years Kenyans and other Africans will not need to travel to India in search of specialized treatment mainly for non-communicable diseases. It is estimated that close to 10,000 Kenyans spend KSh10 billion annually seeking treatment in India.
