What is hospital grade flooring?

“When we create an environment conducive to healthcare, we can see the benefits in employees' higher resistance to stress, lower percentage of absenteeism and staff movement and an overall higher quality of medical care.”

Healthcare flooring plays a vital role in establishing employee and patient safety within the design of a healthcare facility. The right medical flooring material will help personnel perform their job functions comfortably and efficiently, prevent bacteria accumulation and keep the care environment relaxing and conducive to healing.

Whether you're an architect or healthcare designer choosing healthcare flooring solutions for a client, or a facility owner looking to improve operations, you need an established supplier capable of providing the best in hospital-grade flooring. With more than 70 years of experience in the industry, Mondo Contract Flooring can provide healthcare rubber flooring materials that are both beautiful and functional. The bacteria resistant, sound absorbant, stain resistant and slip resistant nature of Mondo Contract flooring creates a comfortable environment where healthcare personnel can focus on helping patients and patients can focus on getting better.

Improve Your Healthcare Environment

Prioritize Patient & Employee Needs

The majority of hospitals today are designed to prioritize the functional needs of equipment and medical activities — often to the detriment of patients and personnel. Healthcare facility designers also need to consider how material selection impacts the overall atmosphere as it relates to patients and the performance of personnel members.

Hospital flooring has a major impact on the healing environment. The flooring material you choose, down to the color and pattern, will determine corridor acoustics, employee efficiency, emotional atmosphere, overall cleanliness and more. A good healthcare-grade rubber flooring material makes a space both functional and pleasant. A poor flooring choice, on the other hand, can disrupt workflow, dampen the mood and hinder the healing process.

A number of studies shown this connection between environment and healing in healthcare facilities such as hospitals. Some research demonstrates that a well-conceived environment can lead to the reduction of blood pressure, anxiety and pain in patients. By improving a healthcare environment, you also improve the likelihood of positive patient outcomes.

Healthcare flooring solutions can have far-reaching benefits for care since it plays both a functional and aesthetic role in a healthcare facility. As a result, you want to choose the best possible flooring for your needs.

Choose The Best Flooring For Your Healthcare Facility

There are many types of hospital-grade flooring materials available to suit different tastes, budgets and needs. However, not all these materials are well-suited to use in healthcare facilities. Carpet, for example, can be difficult to clean, and hardwood is expensive to install and care for. Rubber flooring avoids many of these problems. Thanks to qualities that give it cleanliness, comfort, sustainability and longevity, rubber is one of the best flooring materials to use in healthcare settings.

At Mondo, we are rubber flooring experts. Rubber flooring comes with many benefits for demanding environments like hospitals, which is why we proudly offer a wide selection of high-quality rubber flooring options. Our healthcare-grade rubber flooring comes in different thicknesses, patterns and colors, so you can use our products to create unique designs and atmospheres without sacrificing performance or durability. Our flooring also includes features to promote hygiene and keep personnel feeling light on their feet.

You can see Mondo flooring providing stunning results in the entrances, corridors and rooms of many clinics, hospitals, assisted living homes and research facilities around the world, including:

Some of our popular flooring products for healthcare facilities, such as Harmoni, Kayar and Natura, can be used to create joyful and relaxing environments conducive to healing.

See Popular Healthcare Products

Healthcare-Grade Rubber Flooring Has Many Benefits

When you choose healthcare-grade rubber flooring, you want to know your choice will pay off, both now and in the future. Mondo's rubber flooring materials come with a number of benefits for healthcare providers and their patients. Our flooring materials are:

• Easy to install: Our rubber flooring comes in large rolls. Fewer seams means easier, lower-cost installation. It's also ideal for flash coving, as the rubber is resilient and will not crack. Mondo rubber flooring has no added plasticizers that would dry over time or cause risk of cracking. Flash coving eliminates the joint between flooring and wall, where bacteria can accumulate, acting as a form of infection control. 
• Easy to maintain: No coatings or waxes are required, making care and maintenance easy. Thanks to the low-maintenance nature of the material, Mondo flooring can save some clients tens of thousands of dollars in upkeep costs.
• Bacteria resistant and easy to clean: The vulcanization process of Mondo rubber makes the material bacteria resistant throughout. Furthermore, the material resists cracking and creasing to eliminate concerns for bacteria accumulation. Minimal seams makes the flooring easy to sanitize. Rubber is non-porous and can withstand stringent sanitation requirements.
• Slip-resistant: Our flooring has outstanding slip resistance even when wet, which helps promote safety in a healthcare facility where floors are constantly cleaned, spills are mopped and the personnel remains on the move.
• Sound-absorbing: Acoustics can greatly impact patient healing since loud environments can cause stress, anxiety and sleep disruption. The sound absorption quality of our flooring greatly reduces noise, leading to reduced stress and better patient outcomes.
• Environmentally friendly: Our rubber flooring is environmentally friendly and contains no LBC red-listed ingredients. It's also low-emitting, leading to better indoor air quality.
• Comfortable underfoot: Mondo healthcare flooring helps create a comfortable work environment for personnel, who spend significant portions of the day on their feet. The flooring's elasticity provides cushion underfoot without being affected by heavy loads such as patient beds and medical equipment.

Mondo's Dual Durometer Technology, — which incorporates a durable wear layer to an underneath performance layer, was originally developed in the athletic and Olympic sectors. Since being adapted for contract applications, healthcare facilities can expect long term benefits from our hospital flooring without seeing a decline in appearance, function or safety.

Contact Us For Healthcare Flooring Solutions

At Mondo Contract Flooring, we offer sophisticated Italian designs, excellent warranties and materials engineered for performance. Unlike other flooring manufacturers — which offer rubber flooring as an afterthought — we focus entirely on rubber, so you can feel confident in receiving the best medical flooring material for your healthcare facility's needs.

Whether you're in charge of a redesign effort or leading a new construction project, we want to help you find the hospital-grade flooring you're looking for. You can view all our flooring products online or receive guidance from an expert. For more information about our healthcare-grade flooring, please fill out an online contact form or reach out to a Mondo representative today.

See Healthcare Flooring Solutions

Learn More About Healthcare Rubber Flooring

When thinking about the best hospital flooring, it is important to consider the best choices for each area of the hospital. There is no one flooring that can serve the entire hospital and some flooring materials are best suited to certain areas more than others. 

For example, at the entrance, you will want flooring with good aesthetics but that can also stand up to heavy foot traffic. Luxury vinyl may be a great option but for the corridors, you may want to opt for rubber flooring as it muffles sound, is durable, easy on the feet, and requires little maintenance. 

At the entrance, you want flooring that immediately sends a message of cleanliness, reassurance, calm, and professionalism. Some other details about flooring in hospitals that you need to consider include the following notes.

Ease of installation: 

Hospitals are complex large institutions and can be busy at all hours of the day and night. Therefore, you do not want to close an entire hospital room floor or department frequently to undertake maintenance, repairs, or installation. You want the best hospital flooring that is relatively easy to install without compromising the hospital function for too long.

Budget: 

Flooring for an entire hospital can be prohibitively expensive; therefore, it is important to have a budget. Some flooring materials are more expensive than others. Affordable flooring materials include luxury vinyl tiles, vinyl sheets, and rubber sheets.

Slip Resistance: 

Because many patients in hospitals have difficulty walking, it is important to select hospital room flooring that is stable and textured so that it helps prevent people from falling and slipping. Plus, when installing the best hospital flooring, it is important to ensure that the edges are smooth and that there is no height difference, or it is possible that some may trip. Finally, liquid spills are very common hospital room flooring must have anti-slip properties.

Cushioning: 

In addition to slip-resistant flooring, it is important to ensure that the material has some degree of cushioning or softness in case someone falls. Patients in hospitals are often debilitated, weak, and/or have poor gait, and the risk of a fall is very high. Therefore, flooring with good cushioning can help prevent serious injury. Flooring that is cushioned can also make it comfortable to walk on and can prevent leg tiredness and fatigue for doctors, nurses, and hospital staff.

Antimicrobial:

 

There is one unique feature about hospital room flooring that has to be a priority. The flooring that is selected should be resistant to the growth of organisms or bacteria. The flooring should be easy to clean so that all dirt, debris, and other liquids can be wiped up right away, with little-to-no chance of bacteria accumulating. 

Recommended and the most common hospital room flooring includes the following.

For hospital entrances, waiting rooms, and lobbies, luxury vinyl tile is an excellent choice and perhaps the best hospital flooring.  The majority of patients, families, and visitors usually see the entrance when they visit the hospital. First impressions do count. Entrance areas are usually associated with heavy foot and wheel traffic (wheelchairs and walkers). Here you preferably want flooring that is not only aesthetic but durable, welcoming and creates a strong first impression.

Luxury vinyl tiles are a great option for the entrance. They are available in many designs to match the decor of the rest of the hospital. Luxury vinyl tiles can tolerate heavy foot and wheel traffic. In addition, luxury vinyl is waterproof, and this is important as patients and visitors may sometimes walk in with wet shoes, depending on the weather conditions or their situations.

For emergency rooms, patient rooms, and nurses’ stations, sheet vinyl has proven to be resilient and a solid choice for the healthcare environment.  It is recommended that when sheet vinyl is installed in a hospital, it is heat-welded with flash coving to seal each seam evenly.  This process reduces the chances that liquids, spills, or bacteria would get caught and remain in the flooring.

Hospital corridors are the main arteries to the different departments and typically see heavy use. Besides foot traffic, there is traffic from rolling loads, like medication carts, equipment carts, stretchers, and wheelchairs. Because of these features, the flooring selected has to be durable, comfortable on the feet, and easy to clean. Nothing beats rubber flooring for corridors. Rubber flooring has excellent properties that include:

• Muffles sound

• Durable

• Available in light colors, which can brighten the surrounding area

• Comfortable on the feet

• Can help cushion patient falls and minimize injury

• Easy to clean

• Hypoallergenic

• Will not scratch or dent easily, and if compressed by heavy loads, it has excellent elasticity to revert to its original form and shape

• Rubber flooring can help promote healing and it encourages patients to walk as it is comfortable

• Can be demarcated to highlight the path so people know where to walk

• Is relatively easy to install

• Is water-resistant

Both rubber flooring and sheet vinyl flooring are recommended in emergency rooms and operating areas.  These two areas of the hospital have to not only be functional and easy on the feet, but the flooring should minimize dirt accumulation and prevent organisms from growing. Both the emergency room and operating areas are always busy with heavy foot and roller traffic; therefore, you want something durable, slip-resistant, and can be quickly cleaned. 

Conclusion

Most hospitals select either rubber or luxury vinyl as their flooring of choice for the best hospital flooring. Both these materials have many beneficial properties.  For answers to your questions or to learn more about the options available for hospital flooring, contact an experienced representative at East Coast Flooring & Interiors at 1-954-379-8161.