About Children's

Quiet Building

Research shows that a quiet hospital environment enhances patient healing and satisfaction among health care providers. For this reason, and in keeping with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC commitment to be a benchmark facility for pediatric care, we've designed one of the quietest hospitals in existence. Children's plans to reduce noise in patient areas, public spaces, conference rooms, lounges and consultation rooms by utilizing more than 30 measures including the following:

Masonry exterior walls at most patient rooms
Floor to deck full-height partitions, sealed and insulated
Multi-layer drywall partitions at patient rooms
Acoustic ceiling tile in lieu of hard ceilings
Extensive use of carpeting and door seals
Remote locations for staff work areas and consult rooms
Sound deadened elevator cab enclosures
Extensive use of vibration isolators
Remote central plant location, eliminating boilers, chillers, and generators
Cast iron piping for storm and sanitary stacks
Strict adherence to sound mitigation requirements
Use of personal communication devices in lieu of overhead paging
Silent notification of nurse call through integration of wireless communication devices
Silent notification of alarms from monitoring equipment through integration to wireless communication devices
"Soft" wheels on mobile carts