As Ontario continues to move forward after Covid-19, construction, renovation, and maintenance projects have resumed, including for healthcare facilities. To help facility administrators and managers make appropriate building decisions along with their contractors and builders, Public Health Ontario has provided guidance on how to ensure the end result is conducive to infection prevention and control. This article will explore these suggestions and other reasons why healthcare facilities use drywall to help ensure patient health and comfort.
What is Drywall?
Drywall is a common interior building material made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper. It is fire-resistant and offers as functional surface that can add aesthetic appeal, sound control and so much more.
Drywall for Healthcare Facilities
Drywall is an excellent choice for walls and ceilings in healthcare facilities because of its role in creating patient comfort in five important areas.
I. Hygiene and Cleanliness
When drywall is properly finished and sealed, it can play an important role in supporting overall hygiene and cleanliness in healthcare facilities because it:
Creates barriers between patients/residents.
Can hold specialized wall coatings that help prevent microbial growth and biofilm formation that could potentially become sources of infection.
Is compatible with hospital-grade cleaning and disinfecting agents.
II. Sound Control
Choosing drywall for healthcare facilities is an important step towards sound control between rooms and areas of the facility. Whether you choose a sound reducing drywall or soundproofing insulation or opt for baseline products, drywall adds mass to walls that deadens sound. Drywall also provides a solid base onto which you can install sound isolation systems or other acoustic treatments.
III. Impact Resistance
Increased durability is another reason to choose drywall for healthcare facilities, spaces where furniture, equipment, and people are frequently moved. Impact-resistant drywall’s higher density core offers improved soft-body impact performance as well as impact and penetration resistance. With drywall, damage is reduced, and the walls retain their integrity while also limiting cracks, tears, and defects that could become sources of infection.
IV. Fire Safety
The choice of drywall for healthcare facilities can become part of your fire safety plan. Specialized fire-rated drywall has a specially formulated gypsum core that can delay the spread of fire by a minimum of 1 hour.
V. Aesthetic Appeal and Healing Environments
Its versatility and compatibility with an array of finishes make drywall for healthcare facilities an excellent choice. Drywall can be painted, textured, wallpapered, or covered with a large area of finishes which allow you to customize wings, rooms, and areas for practical functions and fun aesthetics. The smoothness of drywall and its adaptability to lighting conditions also make it a good choice for creating welcoming, healing environments.
Choose Drywall for Your Healthcare Facility
You can ensure patient comfort, health, and safety by using drywall in your healthcare facility construction, renovation, or maintenance projects.
Contact Kuba Construction to learn more about the benefits of using drywall for healthcare facilities. We are an experienced commercial drywaller in the GTA with over 35 years of experience.