Healthcare furniture faces specific challenges that need to be considered: It has to be comfortable for the visitors using and be easy for staff to take care of all while being functional.
At NeoCon 2019 in Chicago, Wieland market manager Kim Sank discusses the importance of these considerations and how they’re incorporated into Wieland products on display at the show.
Giving Visitors Comfort in Hospital Setting
In patient rooms, comfort and function need to go hand-in-hand. Family members are being encouraged to stay over with patients. The trend has moved from accommodating families in hospital rooms to engaging them, Sank notes.
Listen to the conversation between Christoph Trappe and Kim Sank from Wieland:
You can also read the transcript here:
Patient Room Furniture: Functional Comfort for Day and Night
“What we try to do with our furniture is give them daytime comfort and a place to sleep at night,” she says. “We give them a place to do their work, charge their phone or laptop, and eat a meal in case the doctor comes by and they don’t want to miss rounds.”
The goal is to make patients’ family members feel as home at possible.
On the show floor, Wieland was demonstrating how this can be done with the sleepToo sleep sofa, its bestselling product that people are still discovering. It’s what Sank describes as a “virtual family room” in the 20 square feet allotted as the family zone in patient rooms.
Visitors can sit on the soft, use the table in the middle to work on or make the piece into a bed.
“We try to make the most of the space, and the square footage has been valuable,” Sank says of the product.
Hospital Staff Safety
Another aspect of hospital furniture is that it’s simple for staff, including housekeeping and maintenance, to care for.
Infection prevention is a huge part of Wieland’s design, Sank says. Most of the covers for its products can be removed and replaced without taking the pieces out of service.
Putting Family and Staff First
While healthcare facilities can rightly so be sterile environments, having furniture and features that put family and staff first can make it a more inviting, safer space while still being functional.
