More Than 500 Vistamatic® Panels Support Privacy and Observation at Reading Hospital
Reading, Pennsylvania
As part of a major expansion and modernization project, Reading Hospital needed privacy solutions suited to the clinical demands of a large, advanced healthcare facility. More than 500 Vistamatic® privacy vision panels were supplied for the new Reading HealthPlex, giving staff a simple way to control visibility while supporting patient privacy.
Project Overview
| Facility | Reading Hospital |
| Location | Reading, Pennsylvania |
| Project | Reading HealthPlex / Seventh Avenue Project |
| Project type | Expansion and modernization |
| Opened | 2016 |
| Architect | Ballinger |
| Products | Vistamatic® Vision Panels; BetweenGlassBlinds™ also specified |
| Vistamatic quantity | More than 500 panels |
| Facility expansion | Approximately 476,000 square feet |
The Project
Reading Hospital’s Seventh Avenue Project expanded the hospital by approximately 476,000 square feet and added more than 20 percent to its existing footprint. The new Reading HealthPlex opened in 2016 with five patient floors, expanded emergency and trauma facilities, advanced surgical spaces and new private patient rooms.
The expansion was designed to modernize the campus while creating clinical environments that better supported privacy, safety and efficient patient care.
The Privacy Challenge
Healthcare spaces frequently require two seemingly competing conditions: patients need privacy, while clinical staff must be able to observe rooms and respond when necessary.
Conventional surface-mounted blinds introduce exposed components that require cleaning and can be damaged in active clinical environments. Traditional blinds sealed between glass may eliminate exposed surfaces, but their internal mechanisms can be difficult to access when maintenance is required.
Reading Hospital and Ballinger needed a solution that would provide controllable visibility without relying on conventional blind components.
The Solution
Vistamatic worked with Ballinger during the planning of the Seventh Avenue Project and supplied more than 500 Vistamatic privacy vision panels.
Each panel uses aligned and offset line patterns within a sealed glazing assembly. Turning the handle changes the panel from an open observation view to an obscured privacy position. The mechanical system requires no electricity and allows staff to control visibility directly at the opening.
The panels were customized for the facility and integrated into clinical openings throughout the project.
“Vistamatic vision panels were chosen because they are more easily cleanable than surface mounted blinds and more reliable than blinds between the glass.” Richard Lawless, Architect, Ballinger
Supporting the Healthcare Environment
The completed installation provided Reading Hospital with an enclosed privacy solution designed around the practical requirements of clinical spaces:
- Controlled observation when staff need visibility
- Privacy for patients during care and recovery
- No exposed slats, cords or blind surfaces
- Manual operation without wiring or controls
- A sealed construction suited to routine cleaning
- Customization for different openings and project requirements
The Result
Reading Hospital incorporated more than 500 Vistamatic panels into one of Pennsylvania’s largest hospital construction projects at the time. The installation supported the HealthPlex’s broader goal of creating modern patient-care environments with private rooms, advanced clinical capabilities and thoughtfully selected building systems.
The project demonstrates how privacy can be incorporated into healthcare glazing without separating observation, cleaning considerations and everyday operation into different systems.
