Hydrotherapy Pool Changing Rooms

Little things can make a big difference when designing space to support hydrotherapy in a physical therapy clinic.  The patient changing room – be it ever so humble – is one of those little things to which more attention should often be paid.

Many of the floor plans reviewed for installations feature one, or more often two, changing areas for patients who will use a therapy pool.  It takes a little time to change clothes (especially during the winter months) to prepare for aquatic therapy.  It takes even more time to change back, especially since most people will want to take a rinse shower.  Lack of space to accommodate this seemingly innocuous activity can become a bottleneck for optimizing billable hours for hydrotherapy – knocking down potential profits.

Some hydrotherapy pools are only built to support one, or perhaps two, patients simultaneously. If patients are staggered, then one or two changing rooms might be able to accommodate most situations.  When a therapy pool is designed to support multiple patients, then this architectural afterthought can limit your productivity and profits.

Check with your scheduler and your PT’s on what would work well for your situation.  While the cost of constructing additional changing areas will vary from area to area, the lost profits from not paying attention to this bottleneck can hold your clinic back for a very long time.  The money “saved” could well cost you for years.

Which brings us to an interesting perspective: When viewed as a business, hydrotherapy has almost nothing to do with the cost of the pool.  It has everything to do with the generation of additional revenue, patient and referring physician good will, clinical results, employee retention, and increasing profitability.

Little things can make a big difference.  How you design your facility and which therapy pool you purchase may well determine the clinical and financial reach and success of your clinic.  For the finest aquatic therapy pools on the market please visit www.visionaquatics.com.  For more information and pricing, you may contact Doug Gregory either at doug@visionaquatics.com or at 616.957.4819.