By Carrie Rossenfeld

While hard surfaces can look modern and edgy (and are often easier to keep clean), they’re not always welcome in the medical office setting. Stone, tile and hardwood floors, along with metalframe chairs and glass tables certainly look nice, but they have definite drawbacks for practices, including a lack of comfort and privacy, risk of injury, increased noise and an overall “cold” feeling.

The current trend in medical office design is to make these spaces feel more residential and less clinical, which calls for a softer touch. “This connects the human experiences of sight, sound, texture and movement with furniture and furnishings that feel more hospitable,” says Ashley Ginn, design manager for Shaw Contract Group’s healthcare and education studio in Cartersville, Ga.

“Creating softer surfaces in waiting/exam rooms can help make these spaces more approachable for patients, and can help lower acoustical noise, which has an added benefit of increasing patient acoustical privacy,” says Neil Chambers, CEO and founder of Chambers Design, Inc. in New York City. Decreased environmental noise is also linked to better healing, according to The Center for Health Design.

In addition, slipping and falling is more common on hard, slick surfaces, adds Barry Dubrow, president of Dubrow’s Discount Office Furniture in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Hard surfaces on vertical and horizontal planes also produce a glare and reflective issue, which can be both uncomfortable and anxiety-provoking, says Dan Lee, CEO and president of Lee Design Group PLLC in Dallas. In fact, all of the negative effects of hard surfaces can increase anxiety, fear and alarm in patients.

“Creating a warm and comfortable, ‘soft’ atmosphere to the waiting area is a step in subverting these fears and anxiety,” says Brian A. Bonanni, M.D., medical director for Gotham LASIK & Skincare in New York City. “It lends [itself] to a more relaxed and intimate relationship with the doctor and staff, leading to a better experience and better healthcare.”

How can you soften up your surfaces?
There are many options for minimizing unwanted hard surfaces in your office. Here, MOT shares some tips from design experts and knowledgeable medical practitioners alike.

Flooring
Select low-profile (not shag) carpeting to help prevent slips and falls, says Jeanmarie Zimmerman, associate and design director of Puchlik Design Associates, Inc. in Pasadena, Calif. Also choose durable and solution-dyed carpet that can handle the long-term strain of frequent cleanings as well as wear and tear from walkers, wheelchairs and medical equipment.

Dubrow cautions practices to make sure that sure carpeting is installed properly, without any exposed tacks or bubbling, to prevent trips and injury.

Try carpet tiles instead of traditional broadloom carpeting. “If a section of carpet gets damaged or stained, it can easily be removed and a new piece installed,” suggests Michael V. Swain of Wood Burghard Swain Architects in Irvine, Calif. Even better, carpet tiles are consider “green” or sustainable because they can be replaced in smaller pieces without the waste of replacing all the carpet.

For exam rooms, sheet vinyl, VCT (vinyl composite tiles) and rubber plank/tile flooring are great options that are easy to clean and yet comfortable for standing and walking. Some specialty resilient floorings, such as vinyl, can include a backer mat to assist in cushioning and support, eliminating the need for ongoing wax maintenance while securing the desired level of friction and providing better patient comfort and safety while walking, Zimmerman adds. You can soften the floor visually by using vinyl floor tiles that resemble wood, while welded-seam sheet vinyl with integral cove base is the most robust option, says Swain.

The judicious use of area rugs can soften a space, says Bonanni. Make sure they have a non-slip backing and are cleaned often.

Furniture
Fabric-upholstered furniture rather than harder upholstery vinyl improves privacy and comfort, Lee contends. Today, there are a number of fabrics that resist bacteria and staining, which is one of the main reasons why medical practices have shied away from upholstery.

Minimize or eliminate glass-top tables in waiting areas, suggests Maureen Carley-Vallejo Iida, a senior designer in the healthcare group at Perkins Eastman, a firm in Washington, D.C., that specializes in healthcare design. Also, look for soft or eased edges on chair arms, tables and other surfaces.

“Couches are so much more comfortable than a straight-backed chair,” says Sandra Lee Hartsell, an LPN in Thomasville, N.C. Consider upholstered couches or loveseats in your waiting room to replace some individual chairs and to help create a homier atmosphere, suggests Bonanni.

If appropriate for your practice, look into specialized bariatric and hip-injury chairs for waiting areas, says Zimmerman. These are often available from designated healthcare lines that are engineered for patient safety and include rubber cushions on arm rests to assist elderly or injured patients in the process of sitting and standing, and they are usually suitably weighted at the base to prevent instability or tipping. Also consider cushioned benches next to the reception desk so that patients don’t need to stand when talking with a nurse.

http://www.medicalofficetoday.com/content.asp?article=5285

It is important to see an ophthalmologist if the freckle or brown spot on your eyelids or on the white of the eye changes – increases size or changes shape or color. Remember, early detection is key in treating this condition. A local excision may be curative before it has a chance to metastasize at which time the prognosis is grim. Sunglasses are important for many reasons (guarding against UV rays which cause cataracts and retinal disease for example) but especially for increasing the risk of ocular melanoma.

Eye melanoma symptoms:

• In the early stages the person may have no symptoms (the person will not know there is a melanoma in the eye till he/she has their eyes checked and looked into with the opthalmoscope by the optician/ opthalmologist/ optometrist)
• The benign form of eye melanoma is called a nevus. Regular checks and close watching on it are done to ensure that it doesn’t turn into a melanoma.
• When it grows larger – there may be blurred vision, double vision, decrease in vision, retinal detachment and loss of vision)
• If the melanoma is on the conjunctiva or the iris it will be seen as a blackish/brownish spot on the iris/conjunctiva.
• If not caught and treated early, eye melanomas can spread to other parts of the body, mainly the liver.

Treatments for eye melanoma?

• Cryotherapy and plaque therapy. (to freeze and/or burn the melanoma)
• Laser therapy.
• Surgery to remove the eye, this is called an enucleation.
• Surgery to remove part of the eye, such as iridectomy and iridocyclectomy.
• Chemotherapy.
• Radiotherapy.

To know more about the signs and symptoms of melanoma, click here.

Instead of going to a cosmetic surgeon for your sagging eyes and an opthamologist for your vision, it is now possible to one-stop-shop for all your eyecare needs at Dr. Bonanni’s new Gotham Lasik and Skincare.

Dr. Bonanni is a fellowship-trained corneal and refractive surgeon as well as a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American and European Societies of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, and the International Society of Refractive Surgery. While the qualifications are impressive, he is most sought by celebrities, music moguls, models, and business executives for his unique approach to overall “eye rejuvenation.”

In addition to general ophthalmology, Lasik, and corneal procedures, Dr. Bonanni does Botox and restylane injections and various other eye-rejuvenation treatments. “In my practice, I have a lot of Lasik surgery patients who come back for their cosmetic needs like Botox and facial fillers,” Bonanni says. “As an ophthalmologist, my patients realize that I know the anatomy and function of the eye and face better than even a plastic surgeon would.”

Gotham Lasik and Skincare may not only be better qualified to address all your eye issues, but could also be a serious time saver for those on the run. I look forward to the day my dentist will give me Denise Richards’ lips after a teeth cleaning. It’s probably only a matter of time.

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One of the few surgeons in the world to have extensive experience with, and to be certified on, all the major laser platforms available in the country today, Dr. Bonanni is a fellowship-trained corneal and refractive surgeon who has performed over 35,000 successful laser refractive procedures. He is an expert in all types of laser vision correction; including LASIK, PRK, and LASEK, along with the new non-laser surgical modalities for refractive eye correction.

Dr. Bonanni has opened his own practice on West 56th – called Gotham Lasik and Skincare. Finally, there is a go-to doctor for lasik eye procedures. When people think of top derms, they think of Wexler, Brandt, etc., but there is not really a well known doctor for lasik…until now.

He is the sought after doctor for lasik surgery among celebs, models, business moguls, etc. His calming manner and charming personality make him the doctor of choice for New York’s elite J. He is also one of the only doctors in the state with Wavelight Allegretto Excimer, the type of surgery that does not require making cuts on the surface of the eye (although he offers that too for people who are not right for the newer technology.)

Besides his reputation and clientele, his overall approach to “eye rejuvenation” makes him unique. In addition to lasik (and general ophthalmology, corneal treatments, etc), he also does botox and restylane injections (amongst other kinds of injections) – his whole philosophy is that he offers a one-stop shop for your eyes – ditch the glasses and dry/red eyes from contacts and at the same time (if you want to) take off years with injections, etc. – a total eye makeover.

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Full article at Blogspot.