Do hospitals have to be so depressing?

In one of her blogs in "By Design" Allison Arieff details her experience concerning frequent hospital visits after her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

"...the waiting room window was lined with plants — all dead. In the exam room of another medical practice, I picked up a copy of Sunset magazine — from 1996 (it was 2003). In the waiting area for her radiation treatments, my mother joined the ranks of weary women sitting in uncomfortable chairs, awkwardly clutching hospital gowns that didn’t close."

Hospitals are the epicenters of ultlimate physical recovery, however, why can't they aid in mental rehabilitation as well? The lackluster, depressing look of waiting rooms and offices often add to patients' mental stress and fear of the impending.

Arieff sums up this proposition with "What if bureaucratic processes seemed a little less, well, bureaucratic, and the architecture of healthcare spaces a little less demoralizing? Might it somehow promote a sense of calm rather than apprehension? Design may seem frivolous to consider when lives are at stake, but proactive change in the realm of healthcare could help to make that context about wellness more than illness."