July 9, 2026 – Carolina, an OFS company and provider of healthcare furniture solutions, and ROOM, a pioneer in modular privacy solutions, have announced the release of Sound Decisions: Why Acoustic Privacy Matters in Healthcare Environments. The new white paper examines the growing challenge of acoustic privacy in healthcare facilities, exploring how noise and limited access to private spaces can impact patient trust, caregiver well-being, and healthcare outcomes. The white paper provides research-backed insights for healthcare leaders, designers, architects and facility managers seeking practical solutions that support confidentiality, flexibility and operational efficiency.
Stan Gray, VP of Healthcare for Carolina and OFS, pointed out:
Healthcare environments are among the most emotionally charged spaces people experience, yet privacy is often compromised by excessive noise and limited access to confidential spaces. Our goal with Sound Decisions is to provide research-backed insights that help healthcare design leaders better understand the role acoustic privacy plays in supporting patients, caregivers and the overall healthcare experience.
Sound Decisions draws on industry expertise and is informed by research from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI), Frontiers in Psychology, Noise & Health, BMC Nursing, Intensive & Critical Care Nursing, and other peer-reviewed publications. The paper explores how healthcare organizations are challenged to balance patient privacy with the need for flexible, efficient spaces.
For example, both WHO and FGI recommend sound levels of approximately 40 dBA in patient-care areas, yet studies have found many healthcare environments regularly operate between 50 and 70 dBA, while intensive care units and operating rooms often exceed 80 dBA. Further research shows that excessive noise can negatively affect patient recovery, communication, caregiver well-being and provider performance.
Sound Decisions provides insights on acoustic privacy in healthcare environments, including:
- The impact of noise on patient trust, communication and recovery
- How healthcare facilities balance privacy with flexibility and cost constraints
- The relationship between acoustic privacy and caregiver well-being
- Emerging applications for privacy pods in healthcare settings
- Design considerations for creating flexible, confidential spaces that support patients, visitors and staff
Thierry Ondet, Managing Director, ROOM, remarked:
Acoustic privacy is one of the few aspects of the built environment that affects everyone, yet it’s often noticed only when it’s missing. In healthcare settings, where conversations can be deeply personal and emotionally significant, the ability to speak freely and be heard clearly has a direct impact on the quality of the experience. Designing for acoustic privacy isn’t simply about reducing noise, it’s about creating the conditions for trust, focus, and meaningful human connection.
Sound Decisions outlines opportunities for healthcare organizations to enhance acoustic privacy through evidence-based design strategies and emerging solutions such as healthcare-adapted privacy pods. By creating spaces that support confidential conversations, focused work, and moments of respite, healthcare organizations can foster trust, improve communication, and better support the people who rely on them every day.
The Sound Decisions: Why Acoustic Privacy Matters in Healthcare Environments white paper is available for free download from Carolina. For over 80 years, Carolina has designed and manufactured quality healthcare furniture for customers around the globe. Based in High Point, NC, Carolina was acquired by OFS in 2007. ROOM is reshaping the modern workplace to create the offices of the future around the world, offering modular and creative architectural office solutions that seamlessly transition a stagnant floorplan to one that is adaptive and dynamic. ROOM was acquired by OFS in 2024.
