An emphasis on infection prevention and control often dictates the choice of materials manufacturers use for their products.

"One of our big challenges has to do with infection control and some of the cleaning agents [hospitals] use in these spaces," says Janice Carlson, VP of marketing and product development with Nurture by Steelcase, a health care furniture company. "They obviously want to kill off all the germs, so we need to ensure that the products are designed for the kind of clean that's really required in these settings and that they will last and look great for years into the future."


End-users tend to choose fabrics that simplify the process of curbing infection rates, such as Agion's silver-based antimicrobial solution. Laura Ambler, sales and marketing manager of new furniture with Piedmont Medical, says the solution is enabling hospitals to eliminate bacteria before it even begins to pose a threat.

"Once any kind of moisture hits it, any kind of bacterial or fungi contaminants is eliminated," says Ambler. "It's a whole fantastic procedure where cell metabolism, respiration and cell division are all inhibited, so there's no growth of anything that's dangerous to the environment."


With the expansion of America's waistline, it'd be difficult to find a facility today that doesn't carry any products to accommodate the bariatric patient population. For its new building, New York Hospital Queens acquired wider beds and chairs with greater weight capacities.

Ricotta says manufacturers are also including bariatric products into existing furniture product lines - reducing the discomfort patients may feel when choosing to sit in a chair that clearly stands out from the rest.

Hill-Rom recently commercialized two recliners that can accommodate patients weighing up to 660 pounds. Hookway says the company has invested a lot of resources into the development phase of bariatric products, as the demand continues to grow.

Integrating IT
The digital era has empowered clinicians to use IT at all points of the care delivery process and manufacturers are now introducing solutions to support the technology.

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