Medical facility building structure

Abstract

A medical facility structure that allows a patient to navigate their way through the facility in a straightforward manner. The medical facility includes a long main corridor that extends from an entrance to an exit of the medical facility. The medical facility also includes at least two short dead-end hallways that extend perpendicularly from the main corridor. Each room within the medical facility is provided with a unique room number, with room numbers being provided in sequential order based on a distance of each room from the entrance. When a patient goes to the facility for treatment, the patient first goes to a counter located nearby the entrance, and it is determined if a facility staff member is currently available to treat the patient, If so, the patient is told to go to a particular room number, which can be accessed either directly from the main corridor or from one of the short dead-end hallways. Signs are provided on the main corridor to indicate which rooms are located in each of the hallways, to allow the patient to easily find their way to the proper room.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A medical facility, comprising: 
 an entrance;    an exit;    a main corridor that extends from the entrance to the exit; and    at least two dead-end hallways that extend substantially perpendicular from the main corridor, wherein the at least two dead-end hallways each includes at least one room accessible therefrom; and    a plurality of signs that are respectively provided adjacent to each of the rooms, wherein rooms are given sequential numbers depending on their location within the medical facility.    
     
     
         2 . The medical facility according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of signs are provided at a respective intersection of the dead-end hallways with the main corridor, and are viewable by a patient walking along the main corridor.  
     
     
         3 . The medical facility according to  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a counter provided on the corridor near the entrance, wherein all patients entering the medical facility are directed to the counter in order to be processed.    
     
     
         4 . The medical facility according to  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of signs includes signs placed on respective doors of each of the rooms within the medical facility.  
     
     
         5 . The medical facility according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of signs includes signs placed above respective doors of each of the rooms, wherein the plurality of signs extend perpendicularly from a hallway wall on which the respective doors are mounted.