How do you design a better patient chair? For us it began with conversations, more than 200 of them. We spoke with caregivers, patients, and other support personnel to find out what works and what doesn’t. We also consulted with ergonomists, physical therapists, and gerontologists to understand the recovery process. We learned a lot, and the resulting design became the Nala Chair.

Patients need to be comfortable—physically as well as emotionally. One way the Nala Chair addresses this is by mimicking the natural movement of a person’s body: tilting and pivoting at the ankle, knee, and hip. The motion of the chair is relaxed and controlled; heavier patients will not recline too quickly and lighter ones will not move forward too quickly. Nala’s arms, long and wide, provide patients with ample place to grip while getting in and out of the chair—ensuring patients feel secure.

For caregivers, transferring seated patients up and out of a chair can be a strenuous task. To assist them, Nala was designed with a leaf spring to reduce the physical effort needed to move a patient. To simplify cleaning, Nala was designed with sizeable gaps between components to minimize debris build-up. Resilient materials and finishes were selected to stand up to the rigors of healthcare environments.

We believe that design is a process that begins with people. That’s why we talk to the right people, ask lots of questions, and listen carefully to their answers. The results of these conversations, as in the case of Nala, can be comfortable and healthy.

Good design addressed needs, and in healthcare—where patients, nurses, doctors, and support staff are all interacting in one environment—there are a lot of people with a lot of different needs. Gary Cruce, design principle at Nemschoff, understands this and the award-winning Oasis overbed table is a result.

Gary and I recently had an opportunity to talk about the design of Oasis.

What are some of the issues relating to overbed tables?

There are a lot of different people competing for the same small space on an overbed table. For patients, it is often the only place they can reach and store things while sitting in bed. Nurses use part of the table for setup and prep when they are in the room. And then, threes times a day it’s cleared to hold a food tray.

Research was a part of the project early on, and we worked closely with Kerrie Cardon, a nurse consultant with Herman Miller Healthcare. A photo survey she put together, for example, really helped us understand all of the ways [an overbed table] was being used.

How did this understanding translate into the design of Oasis?

We started by creating a top with a low-walled space at one end to better organize items, but without being too prescriptive and creating cup holders and niches for specific items. It’s easy to move things there when the nurse is working or the food tray arrives. On the column you sometimes find a box of some kind; we designed a small tray instead, which we left open for easy access and visibility. We added tall edges to the tray to keep things from falling off.

Our research showed that overbed tables are often pushed off to the side of the bed, so they’re running parallel to it, which makes it almost impossible for a patient in bed to reach the it. To address this, we added another storage space that floated above the main surface, allowing the patient to easily reach it.

We also spent a lot of time thinking about infection control and cleanability—two important issues in healthcare. The surfaces were designed to come together at a radius, which makes it easy for staff to clean.

The last thing we did was develop a really nice mechanism that allows the table to smoothly and easily move up and down.

Have you had any personal experiences that has informed your healthcare design?

No, I’ve actually been pretty lucky. That’s the irony of our products; we hope that you don’t have much contact with them.A lot of my experience has come from research and working on Nemschoff and Herman Miller Healthcare products.

What is the hardest part of designing healthcare furniture?

The hardest part is balancing all of the different needs of people who interact with a product. There are a lot of subtle things we consider—you appreciate healthcare furniture a lot more when you recognize these.

The students did their own research, learning from interactions with office managers, nurses, physicians, and close family members who experienced these types of spaces and treatments.

“Research is a huge part of healthcare design. Herman Miller’s healthcare knowledge was a great assistance in our learning,” said student Melissa M. Suchowolec.

When asked to identify a key learning, there was consensus that the complexities and rigorous requirements of healthcare design were eye opening. The thoughtfulness and attention to detail would make them better designers of any space, not just healthcare.

Experiencing the students excitement, seeing their innovative designs, and hearing how this project had influenced their design thinking made this is a great collaboration and a meaningful experience for me and the Herman Miller team.

Here’s what they had to say about it:

Josh Boltinhouse
Stevens & Wilkinson, Columbia, SC
One thing that I took away from the conference was the incredible anti-microbial properties of copper. Most anti-microbial products simply don’t allow bacteria to multiply on them, but copper actively kills bacteria.

Amy Buller
Miles Associates, Oklahoma City, OK
Prior to the conference, I was aware of how important evidence-based design is to healthcare projects. What I learned at the conference, though, is that design implementations that do not produce assumed outcomes are just as important to discuss and share as those findings that do produce implicit results. I really appreciated the presenters who had the courage to share studies of multi-million dollar projects whose designs were assumed to be better for patients and staff but whose studies proved otherwise. These findings still help everyone in the design industry understand something new and should be shared.

Ryan Cameron
Visions in Architecture, Lincoln, NE
The one thing that stood out above all the sessions, demonstrations, and exhibits were the people. I cannot remember a conference of that size that I’ve been to where the people were as helpful, knowledgeable, and respectful as they were at HCD2010.

Seth Cantley
Liollio Architecture, Charleston, SC
The most important thing that I learned was healthcare sustainability is 20 times more demanding in consumption and waste than what the earth can handle. But several projects explored some great ideas that created incredible spaces, while giving back to the environment. Ideas like green public spaces in hospitals, operable windows for patients and power failure, and casework that can be easily switched as functions change are great examples that can revolutionize how we improve healthcare and the world.

Heather Greenfield
H+L Architecture, Denver, CO
One thing that I took away from this conference is just how important it is for architects and medical planners to collaborate with healthcare providers. After listening to sessions presented by medical professionals I learned that it is critical to have a medical staff member involved from day one to ensure that a well-functioning, highly technical and atheistically pleasing building is built. I believe that it the relationship should go further from just being an architect/client relationship to being a partnership between designers and healthcare professionals. I look forward to taking this insight and applying it to my career in healthcare design.

Julie Havens
HOK, Chicago, IL
The conference was great! I attended many lectures focused on master planning, emergency department, and international psychiatry design, which are my areas of interest right now, and was able to see many of the products we specify in our projects within the exhibit hall.

Kimberly Matteson
MEDNATIONAL, LLC, Fargo, ND
The most memorable thing that I learned from the conference is that it reinforced the path that I am on to be involved in healthcare architecture. The speakers at the sessions were so passionate about their research and concerned to find solutions to help patients, families, and staff. To be at the ACHA and AIA AAH meetings to see what true leaders in our industry are doing to improve the profession, be innovative, and create opportunities for others was inspiring to me and reinforced that this is what I want to be a part of.

Shruti Nathan
Anshen+Allen, part of Stantec Architecture, San Francisco, CA
As architects, interior designers and planners, what comes naturally to us is the ability to innovate, but the ability to innovate with the notion of empathy is what differentiates us from others and that’s what I am striving to achieve. The most valuable lesson I learned at the conference that I hope to adopt at every stage of my practice is to step outside myself and see the world from another person’s perspective. If we invent hospitals, we can bring the right change in them at any time!

Amanda Scott
Arkitex Studio, Inc. , Bryan, TX
The most memorable learning moment of the conference for me resides in a statement from an educational session on cancer facilities. The lecture began with the architect describing all of the wonderful design elements that the facility boasted. Then the facility representative follows by saying “What do you do with a skylight if there is a Melanoma patient sitting under it?” That statement really shocked me with the fact that a healthcare design is only as good as the support it lends the patient who is using it. I want to always remember that as I design in the future.

On a much more fun note, big feathers, sequins, some Elvis, and a little Frank Sinatra are quite memorable as well. So what happened in Vegas, will actually stay with me for quite sometime and add to my thoughts of better design for the future.

Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients and many thanks for sharing your experience with Discover!