After a satisfaction survey revealed that the hospital's high noise levels ranked as patients' chief complaint, staff at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y., implemented a program designed to control volume levels, the New York Times reports. Under the Silent Hospitals Help Healing (SHHH) program, the facility's fifth floor has become a quiet zone, with SHHH signs alerting workers, patients and visitors to keep the noise down. To reduce hallway commotion, the hospital repaired squeaky wheels on medication carts and installed sound-absorbing ceiling tiles and curtains. Officials also advised staff to wear soft-soled shoes, minimize hallway conversations and switch pagers to vibrate mode. Finally, the hospital lowered the volume on intercoms and offers patients the option of wearing headphones when watching television. Since implementing the changes, the floor's noise level has dropped from as high as 90 decibels, roughly equivalent to the din of a busy city street, to about 65 decibels, which is comparable to the noise level in a library. A nurse who helped develop the program says the effort has helped reduce worker stress and enabled patients to sleep more soundly, benefits that have prompted some other hospital units to adopt the program's noise-reducing strategies (Walker, New York Times, 7/6/07 [registration required]).