Are most hospitals warm?

[Irish Football]

I'm starting to see a pattern at hospitals I've worked/volunteered at. They all seem to be so warm on patient floors, waiting areas, etc.

I'm someone who feels more comfortable in a cool environment and I don't really enjoy working in hot, moist, clammy rooms. Was curious, is this typical for most hospitals (is there a reason they keep them like this), or is it probably just a coincidence for the few hospitals that I've been around?

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[1289]

hhm i've actually noticed the opposite, i'd say it's just the ones you've been at.


you could always be a surgeon.. it's freezing in there 😉

 

[Irish Football]

you could always be a surgeon.. it's freezing in there 😉

I do want to go into a surgical specialty, and that is one of the many reasons I love OR's!

 

[WildEMDoc]

I've also had the exact opposite, almost everywhere has been cold. Which is how I like it 😀

 

[TheShaker]

I don't think I've ever been in a warm hospital. They're usually room temperature or cold. I would imagine a warm room would make the smell much worse.

 

[GopherMD]

Quite the opposite at the hospital I work at. Most areas are cool (not cold, just not warm haha).

 

[Irish Football]

That's so weird though, because the hospital I currently work at keeps the patient floors REALLY warm, to the point where I am always uncomfortable visiting patients. Good to know that most hospitals aren't like this and hopefully the places I rotate at in med school will be a bit cooler.

 

[survivordo]

Varies with the hospital, I think it has more to do with the age of the hospital than anything. Seems like the old ones are colder.

Survivor DO

 

[GopherMD]

Varies with the hospital, I think it has more to do with the age of the hospital than anything. Seems like the old ones are colder.

Survivor DO

The one I work at is less than 10 years old but obvs that's just n = 1

 

[Irish Football]

Varies with the hospital, I think it has more to do with the age of the hospital than anything. Seems like the old ones are colder.

Survivor DO

Could be true, the crazy warm hospital I work at is less than 5 years old.

 

[yocharlie]

Worked in an ER and the trauma room usually is warmer than the rest to make the patients more comfortable. Then again, it was a pretty nice hospital.

 

[namiie]

hhm i've actually noticed the opposite, i'd say it's just the ones you've been at.


you could always be a surgeon.. it's freezing in there 😉

All the ORs I've been in are quite warm. Pediatric ORs are always kept at 85+ degrees F iirc.

And agreed with the post directly above; seems like the warm conditions are those most preferred by the patients/keeps them most comfortable.

 

[Like]

Do you know how bloody cold it is in the operating room 😡

 

[RCPreMD]

I have also found the opposite, patients are constantly asking for warm blankets and complaining how cold it is in the ED

 

[galaxyx]

One newer/nicer ED uncomfortably warm.
One older/smaller ED, uncomfortably cold and the fresh blankets actually live in a warmer.

 

[1289]

All the ORs I've been in are quite warm. Pediatric ORs are always kept at 85+ degrees F iirc.

And agreed with the post directly above; seems like the warm conditions are those most preferred by the patients/keeps them most comfortable.

isn't it a sterility thing to keep the actual OR cool? disclaimer: my only experience is from the surgeries i've actually had where they purposely give you warm blankets right after the iv

 

[1cor1311]

I'm starting to see a pattern at hospitals I've worked/volunteered at. They all seem to be so warm on patient floors, waiting areas, etc.

I'm someone who feels more comfortable in a cool environment and I don't really enjoy working in hot, moist, clammy rooms. Was curious, is this typical for most hospitals (is there a reason they keep them like this), or is it probably just a coincidence for the few hospitals that I've been around?

I work in the O.R. It's always cold in there. And it's not pleasant at 6:00am.

 

[Bacchus]

Do you know how bloody cold it is in the operating room 😡

Not cold enough, I still sweat a bit under my gown and always fogged up the attached shield on the mask. I had to start wearing separate eye gear so I could see.

 

[Ohyeah]

The hospitals I've visited have always been cold. I think it's better that way -- people can always add layers but can only take so many off.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

All the ORs I've been in have been really cold. When I had surgery a few years ago, they even had some hot air machine that attached under my bed sheets that kept me warm until they put me under.

I have also found the opposite, patients are constantly asking for warm blankets and complaining how cold it is in the ED

Yeah, I've seen that too. Mostly from very old seniors that couldn't get warm even if they were in a sauna with a parka on.

 

[Irish Football]

I'm worrying about having to wear a dress shirt, tie and white coat in an already warm hospital. That won't be fun...

 

[namiie]

isn't it a sterility thing to keep the actual OR cool? disclaimer: my only experience is from the surgeries i've actually had where they purposely give you warm blankets right after the iv

I don't think so....they seem to do fine maintaining sterile field. It is likely for the comfort of the patient more than anything else. They don't give warm blankets in the ORs I've been in, so that is probably why they keep the temperature up to begin with.

 

[Lys Ile Glu Leu]

The hospital I work at tends to be cold, especially in the lab (<60&#176;F). The overplayed vampire jokes are often responded to by my frozen fingers palpating for veins. O_O

 

[Narmerguy]

I don't think I've ever been in a warm hospital. They're usually room temperature or cold. I would imagine a warm room would make the smell much worse.

Yeah pretty much every hospital I can recall was cold. It's one of the things I'd always associated with hospitals, I get all happy and tingly thinking about being in a hospital that's nice and warm.

 

[katiemaude]

I also hate being hot. At the hospital I work in, the OR is freezing (supposedly it's 68 but I swear it's lower!) and I love it. I have to keep a scrub jacket on hand and I wear it when I'm not doing physical work - running for instruments or supplies, pushing equipment or carts, moving patients, turning over rooms. On the patient floors, I tended to be HOT. All the time. I never needed a jacket, I was beet-faced red half the time, and I was wearing a scrub T and light pants. When I was running around answering call bells and bathing patients, I'd sweat like someone who ran a 10K if I wasn't wearing ultra strong deodorant. 😱

 

[StudyShy]

All the hospitals that I have been at are cold...the OR is the worst.

The only time that it was hot was when we didn't have any electricity once during the summer. People were sweating like crazy, and it smelled so bad. Thankfully, this only lasted a couple of days.

 

[lovemango]

The ERs I worked in as a scribe were actually usually cold. Patients were always asking for blankets in their rooms.

 

[1cor1311]

The hospital I work at tends to be cold, especially in the lab (<60°F). The overplayed vampire jokes are often responded to by my frozen fingers palpating for veins. O_O

The OR dept I work in is always very cold. We have bed warmers and warm blankets we give to patients however. But for the staff,

 

[PTPoeny]

isn't it a sterility thing to keep the actual OR cool? disclaimer: my only experience is from the surgeries i've actually had where they purposely give you warm blankets right after the iv

Nope. Burn cases and peds cases (especially NICU) they make the rooms crazy hot. And the OR is cold until your are wearing a gown and under the OR lights. No matter how cold they are otherwise I always end up sweating once I'm scrubbed in. I think the cool is for surgeon comfort, the room temp gets turned down if the attending is hot even if all the people who aren't scrubbed in are shivering.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

peds cases (especially NICU) they make the rooms crazy hot.

I wish. Actually, in the United States, this is uncommon

 

[PTPoeny]

I wish. Actually, in the United States, this is uncommon

Sorry I wasn't clear, I mean't in the OR when operating on NICU babies, not in the NICU itself. Or is that not common? I only scrubbed in on a few of these cases but both hospitals where I rotated always turned the thermostat way up when we had NICU babies coming into the OR.

 

[medic86]

I remember an incident where we had to close our OB OR due to the temp and humidity levels being out of range (too hot, too humid).

 

[sinombre]

I tend to overheat pretty easily as well. Is it acceptable to tear the sleeves off of scrubs?

 

[Praefectus]

ORs average about 55 degrees. With the hot overhead lamps and layers of surgical clothing, I'd say it's necessary.

 

[Elewynne]

The ED I volunteer at is crazy warm. I always wear a short sleeve shirt but end up sweaty anyway (and I'm a woman who usually likes it on the warmer end).

 

[Gauss44]

I'm starting to see a pattern at hospitals I've worked/volunteered at. They all seem to be so warm on patient floors, waiting areas, etc.

I'm someone who feels more comfortable in a cool environment and I don't really enjoy working in hot, moist, clammy rooms. Was curious, is this typical for most hospitals (is there a reason they keep them like this), or is it probably just a coincidence for the few hospitals that I've been around?

It depends on who you ask where I work.

-Those with fevers usually think it's cold.

-Those up walking around are too warm.

-Those with head injuries feel better when it's cooler. (It might minimize brain swelling too.)

2 cents: They should put fevers/sick people in warm areas, and injuries in cooler areas with various exceptions.

 

[FCMike11]

I'm starting to see a pattern at hospitals I've worked/volunteered at. They all seem to be so warm on patient floors, waiting areas, etc.

I'm someone who feels more comfortable in a cool environment and I don't really enjoy working in hot, moist, clammy rooms. Was curious, is this typical for most hospitals (is there a reason they keep them like this), or is it probably just a coincidence for the few hospitals that I've been around?

Honestly depends a lot on what sex is dominant on the floor....on my icu unit its like 7 males to 2females, that pulls rank and we keep it cooold.

My fiance works in L&D/nursery and it is always warm over there...

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[FCMike11]

I tend to overheat pretty easily as well. Is it acceptable to tear the sleeves off of scrubs?

One of our ER docs wears sleeveless scrubs.

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[sinombre]

One of our ER docs wears sleeveless scrubs.

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Wait... really?

 

[Geebeejay]

definitely the opposite. Patients complain all the time on how unbearably cold the hospital I work at is. I like it when I'm working though

 

[45408]

ORs average about 55 degrees. With the hot overhead lamps and layers of surgical clothing, I'd say it's necessary.

55? I highly doubt it.

The coldest OR I've been in was about 66 degrees, and once you're gowned up, it's comfortable. It's the absolute worst when you're in a fluid-resistant gown, with knee-high protective covers, and the temperature starts going up.

The hottest ORs are the neonatal cases and burns, both of which are >80 degrees, and it sucks hard.

 

[nysegop]

I was at a hospital on Thursday and Friday. It was essentially 20 degrees Celsius (feels exactly neutral).

 

[CarlATHF]

I think most ORs are kept really cold to help decrease the amount of blood lost during surgeries.

I believe Peds ORs are the exception because they have more difficulty maintaining their body temperature than do adults. Surgeons correct me if I'm wrong here.

On the floors it doesn't really matter, patients complain about it either way lol

 

[45408]

I think most ORs are kept really cold to help decrease the amount of blood lost during surgeries.

That's completely backwards. A cold OR will make the patient coagulopathic and bleed more.

The room is cold because the surgeons/scrub staff want it that way. Period. I can't tell you how many times I've asked them to turn it down because I've got sweat running down my legs because the gown/gloves/mask/hat can get hot with the lights shining on you. If the patient isn't euthermic, then we suffer through higher temperatures.

I believe Peds ORs are the exception because they have more difficulty maintaining their body temperature than do adults. Surgeons correct me if I'm wrong here.

That part is true.

 

[Beargryllz]

Most hospitals are freezing cold, but the patient rooms are usually quite warm

 

[KnuxNole]

Most hospitals are freezing cold, but the patient rooms are usually quite warm

Just the way I like it 😀

 

[FCMike11]

Wait... really?

Yeah our youngest I believe, 33ish.
Code in icu on my patient....guy comes up sleeveless scrubs, tattoos and spiked hair...took a second and I realized he was there to run the code/intubate my patient.

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[jrcable]

I've worked in about 5 hospitals, all of which have been cold. I did go to one hospital that I thought was rather warm, it was also a smaller hospital.

 

[acslater99]

I never heard of a hospital that was warm, but maybe there are some don't really know.

I went to the hospital not too long ago and it was freezing.

 

[CarlATHF]

That's completely backwards. A cold OR will make the patient coagulopathic and bleed more.

The room is cold because the surgeons/scrub staff want it that way. Period. I can't tell you how many times I've asked them to turn it down because I've got sweat running down my legs because the gown/gloves/mask/hat can get hot with the lights shining on you. If the patient isn't euthermic, then we suffer through higher temperatures.

Ah ok, thank you for the correction. Goes to show what happens when you talk out of your a** and you haven't done your surgery rotation yet.