Design, Healthcare
July 11, 2011
By David Foster
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.
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Healthcare, What's Up
April 20, 2011
By David Foster
A new Herman Miller experience is taking shape as we put the final touches on our new Healthcare Experience Center. The new space, conceived as a holistic experience that begins the moment guests arrive, was a year in the making.
The Center and its adjoining spaces are the collaborative result of healthcare experts, architects, designers, nurse consultants, salespeople, our customer experience team, and many more—a true team effort.
Covering the entire continuum of care, the Center demonstrates Herman Miller Healthcare’s human-centered approach to product development and shows the range of solutions that Herman Miller Healthcare and Nemschoff provide.
Healthcare
May 19, 2010
By Marcia Davis
The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE)—a national organization of nurses who design, facilitate, and manage care—has been established since 1967, just a few years longer than Herman Miller Healthcare. And the organization has a similar focus: advocacy and research to advance nursing practice and patient care. Which is why Herman Miller for Healthcare had a presence at the AONE 43rd Annual Meeting and Exposition last month.
Our healthcare experts—many of whom are registered nurse managers with clinical and administrative experience—work to help our customers increase the quality and performance of healthcare facilities. They understand the complex relationships in healthcare delivery systems—from patient care to code compliance, from staff retention to construction planning. Together with our product offering, they translate their expertise into workable solutions.
The AONE conference was the perfect opportunity for Herman Miller Healthcare to help fulfill the vision of AONE: “Shaping the future of health care through innovative nursing leadership.” Our experts gleaned knowledge from the CEUs and networking opportunities, while our booth displayed a range of product solutions from our family of healthcare brands to help make the workplace better for nurses and facilitate patient care:
Nemschoff—Brava glider and Brava patient and lounge chair; Serenity III Treatment chair with heat and massage feature; SleepOver bench
Brandrud—Centé and Nala patient chairs
Herman Miller Healthcare—Aeron stool, Decentralized Caregiver Workstation, Mobile Technology Carts and Procedure/Supply Carts
Design, Healthcare, Well-Being
November 17, 2009
By Carissa Carter
Keynote speeches, round table discussions, hands-on workshops, lecture presentations, exhibit hall displays, awards ceremonies (to honor the Florabella lounge collection, a winner in the Nightingale Awards Competition), and interpersonal conversations shaped the collective Herman Miller Healthcare experience at the Healthcare Design conference held Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in Orlando, Florida.
Our live media team, composed of individuals from Herman Miller and our subsidiaries Brandrud and Nemschoff, covered the event live on Twitter under stream #hcd09.
What did we learn? What were the major trends we observed and takeaways we will continue to think about? What texture did we take away from the intangible? We synthesized our experience and now we present five takeaway points back to you for consideration:
1. You can apply lean process to any industry. Learn and apply best practices from other fields.
2. Use evidence-based design to drive innovation.
3. Patients, doctors, nurses, furniture, infrastructure, equipment, buildings, and nature are all part of the same ecosystem.
4. Design healthcare products and environments that reference norms but create delight.
5. Listen, ask, test, challenge, and participate in communities that are shaping the future of healthcare.
We’d love to hear your reactions. Do you agree? Understand? Let’s continue the conversation here and on Twitter. Follow @healthcarehm and stream #betterworld.
