The new ROOM x Carolina Phone Booth delivers much-needed privacy for healthcare environments

Hospitals are inherently loud places where vulnerability and emotion are on display. And privacy is hard to find. 

There’s the frantic discussions in ICUs and ERs, high-stakes decisionmaking in hallways, and the raw human emotion from patients and families. It’s a challenging environment to find a quiet place for a private conversation or for clearing your head. If hospitals do have a private room, it’s often on the chopping block for cost-cutting. One doctor, who worked in emergency rooms in New York and Miami, calls it “hallway medicine.” 

“There have been times I have been talking with a patient at a normal volume,” he says, “and another patient on a stretcher several feet away has chimed in on our conversation.”

Enter: the ROOM x Carolina Phone Booth, the first privacy pod for healthcare environments, which launched this month. The Booth is designed specifically for hospitals, clinics and high-traffic spaces with sustainable soundproofing designed to block out noise, hygienic materials that are durable and easy to clean and sanitize, and easy set up that can be finished in an hour. 

The Booth blends the expertise of Carolina, an expert in healthcare furnishings, and ROOM, a leader in flexible architecture to solve those vexing problems that have for decades plagued hospitals.

First, let’s talk noise. The World Health Organization and the Facility Guidelines Institute advise these patient areas stay at or below 40 decibels, which is akin to a library whisper. Yet most ICUs and operating rooms trend even louder, reaching measurement above 80 decibels, the equivalent of a whistling kettle. 

Then there’s the humanity, vulnerability, and raw emotion that circulates within those walls. People often feel exposed in hospitals, and they need to speak openly about symptoms, histories and fears. Confidentiality is required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), but in crowded rooms and hallways, privacy isn’t always guaranteed. Caregivers also often feel stressed about the high-stakes decision-making that happens in a hospital setting. Says Stan Gray, Vice President of Healthcare for ROOM’s parent company, OFS, and Carolina: “Going to a staff room or break lounge is not enough.” 

Personal offices and exam rooms can offer space for private discussions, but those shared spaces and respite rooms? They don’t generate revenue, so they tend to be the first casualties in cost-cutting cycles. Even if hospitals were to build more dedicated privacy rooms, it can be messy, expensive—often costing between $440 and $450 per square foot—and take months to complete.

ROOM and Carolina set out to solve these problems. They took much of their design direction from real clinicians—including members of the Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design— in attempts to address the privacy, hygiene and usability needs of real care settings. 

The results are impressive. The ROOM x Carolina Booth includes: 

• Soundproof walls that reduce noise by 32 decibels and achieved top marks for reducing sensory overload—nabbing the Certified Autism Resource badge by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).
• Materials that are durable, stainproof and easy to disinfect, such as high-pressure laminated work surfaces, powder-coated metal door handles and proprietary interior wall fabrics by Tekloom™ technology.
• A space that’s healthy to be inside: People can breathe fresh air thanks to two ultra-quiet fans that replace air every 60 seconds, and they don’t have to worry about volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Booth is Greenhealth approved and SCS Indoor Advantage Gold Certified.
• Modular design that’s adaptive and dynamic, meaning it can be easily moved around based on evolving needs. 

The ROOM x Carolina Phone Booth won’t change the loud, emotional nature of hospitals, but it can make catching your breath in silence or having that sensitive conversation in private suddenly, entirely possible. Explore the ROOM x Carolina Phone Booth on room.com.