Comfort promotion: Caring for the client's environment

In a healthcare setting, a client’s, or resident’s, “unit” is referring to their room. The various types of units differ according to the person’s needs.

For a client that is receiving medical care in their own home, the resident’s unit is the person’s bedroom or living room.

However, most people that need medical care stay in healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and long-term facilities.

In hospitals, clients typically stay in commune units with a shared bathroom that can accommodate more than one person.

There can also be more private units that are designed for one or two people, but these are used for individuals that need more privacy such as those recovering after a surgery.

A special type of unit is in the intensive care unit, or ICU, or a critical care unit, or CCU, and it’s reserved for individuals that are critically ill, need special equipment and more intense monitoring.

Also, a hospital usually has birthing suites for people that are about to or just gave birth to a baby.

Sometimes, a hospital can also have another type of unit called a subacute care unit, or skilled nursing unit, for clients who are not ill enough to be in a regular hospital unit, but have not yet recovered fully to return to their home.

Now, in a long-term care facility, also known as a nursing home or an assisted living facility, the units are different than in hospitals.

People stay for a longer period of time and so the facility has to be more home-like. Residents have their own private room or share a room with one or more people.

Bathrooms can be private or shared and there are also some other common rooms designed for dining and other activities.

In some long-term facilities, people live in whole apartments that have one or more bedrooms and bathrooms, but share commune dining or activity rooms with other people.

Now, the condition of a client’s unit affects the person’s well-being and so the resident’s environment must have certain accommodations to ensure that the client feels comfortable.

First, it must be kept clean in order to prevent transmission of infections and make a good impression on the clients and their families.

Next, it’s important to ensure that the unit doesn’t have any unpleasant odor, such as the smell of vomit, urine and feces.

Also, it's essential that a unit has a well-functioning ventilation system that makes the room feel neat and clean, and helps with the odor control.

In addition, the temperature has to be maintained at around 71oF to 81oF where most individuals feel comfortable.

This temperature can be warm for a person such as a nursing assistant that is busy all day, but it’s ideal for an individual that is inactive due to an illness or advanced age. Another important aspect is adequate lighting.

People usually need two types of lighting. The first is the general type that comes from the sunlight or it’s provided by a ceiling fixture and helps clients and their caregivers move about in the room safely.

The second type is task lighting that is usually used for activities that require more focused illumination such as reading and writing.

Finally, a resident’s unit has to be quiet, so that the individual can rest and sleep. However, health care facilities are typically busy places and thus, a certain level of noise is expected.

The noise usually comes from clients that are chatting with their families, from the television or the radio, from members of the health care team, but also from equipment that don’t function properly and are noisy such as a squeaky bed with loose joints.