“The Beck Group truly understands the acoustic, infection control and aesthetic benefits that our complete ceiling solutions offer, especially to health care facilities,” said Will States, Rockfon’s district manager.

Photo courtesy of Rockfon

“Stone wool is hydrophobic, meaning that it resists water, humidity and moisture,” States elaborated. “It also inherently resists fire. No added flame retardant or antimicrobial chemicals are needed to produce these performance benefits. Stone wool naturally resists the growth of mold, mildew or other potentially harmful microorganisms. Our stone wool ceiling panels are durable, easy to clean and support indoor air quality.”

All Rockfon stone wool ceiling panels are UL Environment GREENGUARD Gold Certified for low-emitting products. This stringent certification process considers safety factors that may impact people who are more vulnerable, such as children, seniors and those with compromised health.

Acoustic comfort is also critical to healing and recovery. Guidelines for the design and construction of health care facilities, published by the Facilities Guidelines Institute, require that “all normally occupied health care facility spaces shall incorporate acoustic surfaces.”

Photo courtesy of Rockfon

As part of a hospital’s optimized acoustic design strategy, Rockfon’s sound-absorbing, stone wool ceiling panels achieve noise reduction coefficient ratings of 0.90 and higher. This is considered the best NRC absorption category.

Throughout the new hospital in Texas, Rockfon Sonar acoustic stone wool panels perform at the best noise reduction coefficient category, demonstrated with a 0.95 NRC rating. Rockfon Sonar panels in 2-by-2, 4-by-4 and 2-by-6-foot sizes with a square tegular narrow profile were installed in a Chicago Metallic 4000 Tempra 9/16-inch suspension grid to create the ceilings in the lobbies, hallways and patient rooms.

Photo courtesy of Rockfon

High NRC ceiling panels improve speech privacy and help ensure design complies with HIPAA policies. Further enhancing speech intelligibility, sound-absorbing ceiling panels make communication between staff and patients easier and clearer. Along with the patients’ environment, optimized acoustic strategies also support the medical care team’s concentration and accuracy, and occupants’ and visitors’ overall experience.

For the Texas hospital’s food service areas, The Beck Group specified Rockfon Hygienic Plus 2-by-2-foot acoustic stone wool panels with a 0.90 NRC rating. These square lay-in tiles were installed using a Chicago Metallic 1200 Series 15/16-inch exposed suspension system. The panels’ edges are sealed to withstand repeated cleanings and enhance the ceiling’s resiliency for decades to come.

Photo courtesy of Rockfon

Dining together provokes a distinct feeling of personal and communal connection. At a hospital, a cafeteria can be an oasis for families, staff and physicians. Balancing privacy and conversation in these spaces can be almost as essential as in patients’ rooms.

“We can’t push ‘pause’ for this pandemic because the health care needs of those who depend upon us simply won’t wait,” the hospital’s CEO noted. “In fact, our communities need us now more than ever. Despite the many challenges that have presented this year, we were able to move forward with this important project.”

The hospital’s leaders shared a vision “to be transformative to people by being holistic, exceptional, connected, affordable and viable. This focus will go beyond just our patients. It’s going to include our team members, our physicians, our patient families, our vendors, our community members and any other person who walks through our doors.”