Color becomes a humanization tool in hospitals

Color has a role that goes far beyond aesthetics when it comes to the hospital environment. It can calm, welcome, distract a child undergoing treatment or simply make a hallway less hostile for those who pass there for hours, days or months. Before any discussion about brand or institution, what is at stake is precisely this practical effect of color on those who experience the care space on a daily basis, be they patients, companions or healthcare professionals. This effect, however, cannot be resolved simply by choosing a more vibrant or softer tone. It involves a combination of emotional perception and technical requirements: the color needs to be welcoming, but the paint also needs to protect the surface, resist frequent cleaning and last longer in healthcare environments, such as hospitals. Eduardo Bathke, general director of Tintas Verginia, sums up this duality well when explaining how this type of project usually ends up at the company. "When people come to us, they already look for color with great expectations. In fact, in some cases we need more color, more energy, more happiness, more joy. In others, tones that calm and calm", says the executive. Eduardo Bathke, general director of Tintas Verginia, sums up this duality well when explaining how this type of project usually ends up at the company. "When people come to us, they already look for color with great expectations. In fact, in some cases we need more color, more energy, more happiness, more joy. In others, tones that calm and calm", says the executive. He remembers, however, that there are also less visible but equally important demands: "There are cases of cleaning, technical cases, cases of maintenance, infiltration and hygiene. So the role of paint is not just in adding color." What goes into the technical bill of a hospital environment Care environments have specific requirements that go beyond the choice of tone. Among the factors considered in these projects are: Waterproofing, especially in external areas and walls exposed to rain and humidity; Paints with greater durability and less need for maintenance, reducing the frequency of repainting in high circulation spaces; Finishes such as semi-gloss, which facilitate the cleaning and hygiene of frequently touched surfaces; Antibacterial solutions, designed to reduce the proliferation of microorganisms in healthcare environments; Wear resistance, relevant for walls and walls that suffer from time and exposure. This type of technical demand guided, for example, the revitalization of a wall in a healthcare institution in Curitiba, where the challenge was not aesthetic, but structural: protecting a worn surface and preventing new damage over time. "We recently participated in the revitalization of the wall in a part not so much with color, but with protection, because it was a wall that was corroded, crumbling. So there was a waterproofing process and, for this, we brought technical partners from this area, not just color", reports Bathke. He explains that the action took place through Instituto Verginia, which is the social arm of Tintas Verginia, responsible for organizing donations, support, partnerships and sponsorships that the company maintains with hospitals and other institutions. When the child's drawing becomes a mural One of the most striking examples of Instituto Verginia's work involved the revitalization of the facades of a pediatric hospital in Curitiba, with drawing workshops conducted with children cared for by the institution over the course of several months. The drawings produced in these workshops served as the basis for murals later applied to the walls and facades of the site. "There were several drawing workshops with the children, over several months. Then these drawings and stories were applied to the walls of the hospital", describes Bathke. According to him, the project was born from a direct approach with partner artists - André Mendes and Tom +Amor - who had already been developing cultural work in the region. "We have this relationship with the local community and with artists who need support for projects. In this case, they already had a structure to run the project and we provided donations and resources", says the general director. The proposal helped transform a space traditionally associated with anxiety and treatment into a setting that also welcomes children's creativity, combining product, technical knowledge and Verginia's willingness to join forces with those who were already leading the initiative. Children attended by Hospital Pequeno Príncipe participated in drawing workshops alongside the artists responsible for the project. tomamor.com.br A network of partnerships that goes beyond a single project Working in healthcare environments is not limited to an isolated case. Over time, the Verginia Institute also supported larger renovations in other institutions, acting as a complementary partner in projects coordinated by construction companies and local organizations. This model reinforces something greater than a one-off action: Verginia builds, over time, a broad network of partnerships, joining forces on each front so that large-scale projects achieve results that would be difficult to achieve with the actions of a single organization. According to Bathke, there is no single format applied to all cases of support for hospitals: "Support occurs through incentive laws, financial resources, sponsorship, product donations, technical support, partnerships with artists and construction companies, and volunteer labor. There is no single format: each project is evaluated according to its needs and structure." This variety reflects the very nature of the requests: a hospital undergoing structural renovation has different demands from an institution that simply seeks to revitalize a living space with color and hospitality.