Finally got a couple shots of the Infusion Center with my ancient coolpix. First is the station across from me, I waited until that person was done and had left. It’s like this all the way down, both sides. The nurses’s station is to the side of this chair. Second photo is my chair, got a bit of work done, and took this while I was still hooked up, but close to done. Click for full size. The worst effect of this cycle so far? My tea now tastes like a combination of soap & vomit. This might be a world ending event.
© C. Ford, all rights reserved.
It looks like they have chosen comfortable chairs… that is so cool you could take your artwork and share. I bet it really struck a chord with other people there.
The chairs are comfortable and go into full recline. It was just a few patients who commented, most of those hanging out waiting to get labs done. The infusion center is, for most, a place of withdrawal. Most people stay awake through fluids and premeds, then hit recline and sleep for chemo and pain meds. Almost put things down and napped myself, everything is conducive to it. The I.V. has a loud click clock, reminiscent of a metronome. The swing arm behind and over the chair is a TV, so some people watch a show.
Yesterday, there was a very old man in, who as he’s making his way down the hall, was loudly complaining about Uber. The drivers were girls! Young ones! “I thought they’d have someone more mature!” Gotta say, never heard that one before. :D
Looking at the pictures, I immediately notice that your art breaks out of the otherwise narrow color palette of the room -- it’s the only thing carrying bright colors.
I’m glad you’re being you.
Marcus, yeah, unfortunately, most hospitals are studies in neutral. There are spurts and splashes of colour, but they are minimal. Even though one study after another has shown that colours are highly helpful in a hospital setting, no one will take the step, outside of pediatric wards. I’ve seen some photos of hospitals who have gotten the message, none of them in Ustates, and you feel better just looking at the damn photos. Beautiful wall colours, nice paintings, colourful office carpet, all that.
My radiologist to be got it right, his waiting area is massive, with forest green abounding, some burgundy, truly nice wood chairs with good padding, tables by all of them. Games for sprogs, an open central fire place, the whole outside wall windows, soft drinks, water, coffee, tea, hot chocolate available. But he’s in his own building, and apparently got the say on the decoration business.
Caine@#4:
I’ve seen some photos of hospitals who have gotten the message, none of them in Ustates, and you feel better just looking at the damn photos. Beautiful wall colours, nice paintings, colourful office carpet, all that.
Seattle General is beautiful and has art exhibits curated by the staff and patients. And this is not “kid’s refrigerator drawings art” it’s really amazing stuff, glass cased and lit and beautifully displayed. Johns Hopkins has similar exhibits in some of the newer wings. They get it.
I guess there are some practicalities -- artworks can be hard to clean and now that we’re heading into the era of “disinfect everything with bleach” it’s going to begin to look a bit grim. Well, I like stainless steel.
Marcus:
I don’t, stuff is a nightmare to keep clean unless you never go in the room, and never, ever touch it. I won’t have it in the house. (New stove was an exception, it has some ss, but most of it is covered by a black coating, much easier to clean.) Stainless steel appliances cannot die soon enough. The only reason they got so popular was because rich people fell for them left and right, but they never have to clean the damn things.
I’m glad some hospitals are getting it, but it’s not all about art pieces. Photographic prints can go a long way, as can poster prints. It’s mostly about killing the main neutral core -- walls and floors. And it would be nice if all the waiting room furniture wasn’t upholstered in “you might vomit, piss or shit” plastic that is obviously plastic and ugly as sin.
The chemo station reminds me of the blood donation stations at the Red Cross facility where I used to do double red cell donations. (I’m on a med now that rules me out.) Except there, the chairs were much more spartan. I presume that a chemo patient would have to be in the chair quite a bit longer than a blood donor — it was about 40 minutes for double red cells, IIRC.
Great -- your tea now tastes like cilantro.
Busterggi:
:laughs: That’s what I emailed Rick -- “might as well be eating cilantro.” I can’t even stand the smell of it, like having a bar of Ivory Soap shoved up my nose. And now my tea. *sobs*
Don:
Yeah, you’re in for a minimum of 4 hours, so even with cushy chairs, your butt still gets numb. It’s a long time to sit without getting up. You can unplug and wander down the hall to the lav now and then, though. And, if you have a touchy port or IV machine, it cuts way down on your ability to squirm or change position, because then it all stops working, and beeps annoyingly, waiting until a nurse heads over to do a reset.
4 hours of sitting in place while being poisoned. That must feel like a full day’s work.
The technology student organizations here were quite competitive in donating blood and AFAIR there was even a (not sure if it was physical or notional) trophy called Veripuukko (blood knife) for the guild which donated most.
One way the active members of the guilds enticed others to donate blood was: “You’ll have less blood, so you’ll get drunk more easily.”
Ice Swimmer:
Hahahaha, ah someone knows incentive! :D
Yeah, it does. That last hour seems endless. Another reason why so many people just sleep. If I do though, I’ll be up all night, so I try not to nap.
Oh, the beige. *shudder*
rq, yep, it’s everywhere. The basic wall colour.
My infusion center is done is pastels. No beige.
That’s nice. I’m not crazy about pastels, and pastel blue makes me hostile, but I’d take them over beige any day.
The artwork is bloody brilliant. Vibrant, angry and … loud colours. Very You, if I may say so. Perfect to counter the beige menace. :D
Thank you, Avalus!