Lavender Rooms and the Future of Caregiver-Centered Design (Podcast)

As healthcare organizations work to improve patient outcomes, many are recognizing an important truth: supporting caregivers is essential to delivering exceptional care. That philosophy has shaped every aspect of Cleveland Clinic's new Neurological Institute building, scheduled to open in 2027.

According to Kristen Vargo, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Director of Nursing for the Neurological Institute, the facility is designed to honor the deep interconnectivity of caregiver well-being and patient care.

"Healthcare design extends well beyond architecture, so we approached the building as an entire system," she explains. "We wanted to do whatever we could to improve clinical workflows and create opportunities for caregivers to recharge. By investing in our staff, we ultimately strengthen the care they can provide to every patient."

In this episode of Neuro Pathways, Vargo discusses:

• Improving the patient and caregiver experience through thoughtful, flexible architectural design
• The role of caregiver well-being in the delivery of high-quality patient care
• Identifying and eliminating operational inefficiencies to mitigate staff fatigue and frustration
• Supporting caregiver resilience with dedicated caregiver wellness and decompression spaces

Click the podcast player above to listen now, or read on for a short, edited excerpt. Check out more Neuro Pathways episodes at clevelandclinic.org/neuropodcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. You may claim your credit here after listening to the episode.

Podcast excerpt

Podcast host Glen Stevens, DO, PhD: When designing Cleveland Clinic's new Neurological Institute building, it became particularly important to find ways to improve the caregiver experience. Can you tell us a bit about that process?

Vargo: Our focus on caregiver experience recognizes that patient outcomes are deeply connected to the environment in which our clinical teams work. Rather than treating caregiver needs as secondary, the project team approached the building as a system in which patient care, staff workflows and well-being, and technology all reinforce one another.

As we started to look at workflows, we found several operational friction points – fragmented patient flows, repetitive data collection and confusing layouts – some of which can contribute to staff fatigue. So, we dug a little deeper and identified opportunities for improvement…including [ways] to manage underutilized space.

What's notable about the design of the new Neurological Institute is that it addresses these friction points as architectural issues, not just workflow problems. We really thought about how to enhance the building design to meet the needs of everyone.

How many times has a patient completed a MyChart survey [at home]…only to be asked the same questions when they arrive for their visit? That’s one of the many inefficiencies that we’ve explored. Neurological care is currently spread across 10 different Cleveland Clinic buildings…so we really took into account how this new model – being under one roof – will enhance the patient and caregiver experience.

Dr. Stevens: Tell us the story of Lavender Rooms. What is their utility?

Vargo: The Lavender Room concept is an important reflection of how healthcare design is evolving. Historically, hospitals were designed entirely around clinical function and patient throughput, but we now have a much deeper recognition of how caregiver well-being directly impacts patient care and safety…as well as team performance. The idea came about during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Essentially, Lavender Rooms are dedicated spaces designed to acknowledge caregivers as human beings by supporting their wellness and [need to] decompress. It’s a quiet, calm environment that allows our nurses, physicians and staff to briefly step away from the intensity of the clinical setting to spend a few moments on themselves.

The rooms were designed to provide low-sensory stimulation…so they feature calming artwork and other items to help [reduce stress]. One of the spaces…includes a puzzle table…others include massage chairs, art therapy resources and aromatherapy.