Beebe Healthcare, the largest employer in Sussex County, Del., serves the community with a comprehensive array of medical services ranging from walk-in clinics to specialized care in cardiology, oncology, and orthopedics. With a rich legacy dating back to 1916, Beebe Healthcare boasts a 210-bed facility in Lewes that consistently ranks in the top 5% for patient satisfaction nationwide.

Driving their commitment to superior patient outcomes, Beebe Healthcare made a pivotal shift from traditional fabric curtains to innovative disposable curtains featuring cutting-edge hookless-ring technology and integrated QR codes. These QR codes, seamlessly incorporated into each curtain panel, synchronize effortlessly with the Changeout Curtain Tracker app to facilitate efficient and cost-effective compliance monitoring.

Curtain Transformation Catalyst

Iris Verdi, Director of Environmental Services at Beebe Healthcare, championed the transition to disposable curtains based on her extensive experience retrofitting seven hospitals with the revolutionary curtain system. Verdi’s endorsement of the disposable curtain system, which she has faithfully supported for 14 years, underscores its simplicity and sustainability. “I was an early adopter of On the Right Track’s disposable curtain solution and have remained loyal ever since,” Verdi affirms.

Before the switch, Beebe used traditional fabric curtains that required ladders to change out every curtain. The process often resulted in missing or broken hooks, leading to an unkempt and unprofessional look. The laundering process was also a hassle, with the hospital having its own washers and dryers that resulted in messy-looking, wrinkled curtains. Switching to the disposable curtains eliminated these problems.

Operational Excellence and Patient-Centric Care

The shift from cumbersome fabric curtains requiring manual handling to disposable curtains that can be swapped out within minutes has unleashed a new wave of operational efficiency at Beebe Healthcare. This streamlined process liberates caregivers and staff to concentrate on patient outcomes, ultimately enhancing experience and service quality. Moreover, the aesthetic appeal of disposable curtains fosters a welcoming ambiance that contributes significantly to patient satisfaction and comfort.

Innovative Infection Control Measures

Disposable curtains emerge as a stalwart ally in infection control, playing a pivotal role in curbing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Unlike their fabric counterparts that can harbor pathogens, disposable curtains offer a hygienic shield with their single-use design and QR code-enabled changeout tracking. By eliminating the need for laundering and enhancing clarity on curtain replacement frequency, these curtains fortify infection prevention protocols and bolster overall health and safety within healthcare settings.

Seamless Compliance Tracking

Central to the success of the curtain changeout initiative is the Changeout Curtain Tracker app, which revolutionizes compliance monitoring. Verdi underscores the app’s transformative impact, streamlining tracking through real-time synchronization on a user-friendly cloud interface. Customized alerts, scheduled reminders, and tailored reports equipped with built-in filters elevate compliance management to unprecedented levels of efficiency and transparency.

Sustainability and Return on Investment

Verdi highlights the ecological edge of the disposable curtain system, emphasizing its recyclability and water-saving attributes, making it a frontrunner in sustainability practices. As a cost-effective alternative to traditional fabric curtains, disposable curtains offer a compelling return on investment by significantly reducing maintenance expenses while upholding stringent infection control standards. According to the findings outlined in the white paper entitled Materiality Matters: Evidence-based research is clear; it is past time for health systems to re-evaluate the cubicle curtain, the initial cost per bed for disposable curtains is notably lower than that of fabric curtains. This cost-effectiveness is attributed to the elimination of expenses associated with curtain maintenance, including laundering and repairs. This affordability coupled with enhanced operational efficiency positions disposable curtains as a strategic choice for healthcare facilities aiming to optimize resource allocation and elevate patient care standards holistically.

Embracing Innovation

Beebe Healthcare’s pioneering journey towards efficient curtain changeout compliance embodies a paradigm shift in healthcare facility management. By seamlessly integrating technology, sustainability, and operational excellence, Beebe Healthcare sets a new standard in patient-centered care and infection control best practices. To delve deeper into Beebe Healthcare’s transformational narrative, access the comprehensive case study here.

Photo Credit (all): Beebe Healthcare

Tasha Hughes is the Senior Creative Producer, Principal and Owner, Creative Gold.

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LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Serenity Sliding Door Systems provides an inside look at the 88 surface-mount systems featured in the newly constructed Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican facility.

Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican was completed in 2020 and is located in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dignity Health partnered with Serenity to complete one of the most beautiful and compelling projects Serenity has to date. Through representative and distribution efforts, Serenity successfully installed 88 surface-mounted sliding door systems to create this attractive high-functioning space. This project shows excellent examples of mindfully designed sliding doors integrated into a healthcare setting.

When it comes to Serenity’s systems, there’s not much you can’t do in terms of customization and functionality. The systems selected for this project were comprised of a manufactured standard plastic laminate door. They needed to be configured to match existing swing doors for finish and size, provide acoustic and security aspects, and meet the overall aesthetic vision. Serenity also successfully integrated options for providing future access control and automatic operating.

Designing with sliding doors offers many benefits, including:

Increased Efficiency: Compared to a swing door, sliding doors save up to 30 square feet at every opening. By choosing to design with sliding doors, Serenity was able to alleviate hallway congestion with a streamlined path of travel and provide wider access points for hardworking staff. With no threshold required and no swing door to maneuver around, the space is made more efficient for all. Through Serenity’s ability to provide a consistent and complete quality system, installation is made easy after a quick and painless quote process.

Smooth, clean aesthetics: On the space inside the nurse’s station, note the overall alignment of the aesthetics, the flow of the area, and the cleanliness aspect. This was the goal looking to be achieved in this particular area. As part of this effort, Dignity requested clean-looking shrouded valances for the project. The shroud valance’s purpose is to conceal the visible hardware of the sliding door end cap. This provides an aesthetically clean look compared to other valance options and serves as an easier-to-clean surface – particularly impactful for medical environments.

Privacy & Security:  Serenity’s sliding doors also feature integral gasketing in the frame and an optional auto door bottom. These elements help to sound control the environment and provide privacy for patients. The auto door bottom is fully mortised within the bottom of the door and drops automatically when the door is closed to create a sound seal with STC 35 rating.

Like many other projects, Serenity provided doors where one side has locking and latching capabilities and the other does not. Serenity has access to many hardware manufacturers and can provide various functions to integrate with the system design, helping teams meet more specific hardware requirements.

Looking at the Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican project as a whole, we see a beautiful and efficient design. With overall space savings, strong product functionality, and consistent door matching, Serenity produces a better value turnkey door system that meets the demand and compliance for today’s healthcare projects.

To see other applications from Serenity, explore system options, or get started with a quote for your project – visit our website! www.SerenitySlidingDoor.com

This article is designated as Branded Content and HCO News does not ensure the veracity or accuracy of the information included within.

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Asana, Nidra, and ZenScape make up our newest collections of heterogeneous sheet flooring. Inspired by meditative colors and patterns found throughout nature, these collections emit tranquil, therapeutic vibes with the goal of enhancing the quality of life in healing environments.

Featuring a plethora of subtle therapeutic tones and a wide variety of nature-driven designs, these collections complement one another and can easily coexist within a single space – think hospital corridors with an Asana design and patient rooms with a pattern out of the Nidra or ZenScape collection.

Asana; a posture adopted in performing hatha yoga.

The Asana collection (pictured above) features 3 designs – Allure, Hillier, and Namaste – with a total of 12 colorways. And while the designs differ in terms of pattern and inspiration, each was designed to aid in creating calm, relaxing atmospheres to improve the patient experience.

Oxana Dallas, a key member of the design team and a major catalyst in bringing these HET sheet collections to life, stressed the importance of harmony.

”The Asana collection relies on harmony,” explained Oxana. “By combining geometric shapes, the look of stone and wood, and other abstract patterns found in nature, we were able to create a collection that brings calm, meditative sensations to the forefront.”

Nidra; A meditation practice that induces a state of deep, but conscious relaxation.

Available in a total of 20 colorways and a wide spectrum of light and dark tones, the Nidra collection consists of the following designs: Brittnau Oak, Elements, and Tibetan Oak.

To further understand the intent behind the collection’s various designs, we spoke with Allison Ardire, Staff Designer, Innovation & Product Development at Armstrong Flooring.

”The designs within the Nidra collection speak to the connection between humans and their natural surroundings,” explained Allison. “At its core, this collection investigates the meditative patterns of wood lines and the calming spirit that emerges when connected to nature.”

This holds true for the entirety of the Nidra collection.

Zenscape; Emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition.

Showcasing 2 patterns – Abstra and Aurora – and 16 colorways, the Zenscape collection was meticulously designed for modern healthcare and hospitality settings. What’s really great about the Zenscape collection is how well the included designs and colorways pair with one another.

For example, a combination of Aurora in Blue Agave with Abstra in Lotus or Kava creates a serene space with ocean-like vibes. But if you pair Aurora in Gotu Kola with a perimeter or outset of Abstra in Hawthorn, you’ll be left with more of a meditative, rolling hills type of ambiance.

The design possibilities that stem from this unique collection of heterogeneous sheet flooring are plentiful. Add the Asana and Nidra collections to the mix, and possibilities are endless.

The post Design Stories – Asana, Nidra and Zenscape Collections of HET Sheet Flooring appeared first on HCO News.

In an effort to improve the patient and caregiver experience within a variety of healthcare settings, our teams utilized evidence-based research and science-driven testing to create the Asana, Nidra, and Zenscape collections of heterogeneous sheet flooring.

With growing evidence that bringing nature indoors helps reduce tension, minimize length of stay, and lessen the need of medication for patients, these healthcare-inspired collections leverage biophilic design and meditative patterns in an effort to create soothing, stress relieving environments.

In addition to well-thought-out designs and colorways, Asanda, Nidra, and Zenscape are engineered to stand up to the wear and tear of commercial settings.

Available in 6, 9, and 12-foot rolls, these collections offer installation and design flexibility. By providing access to wider rolls, we are able to reduce the number of seams in any given installation – the newly-available 9-foot rolls are perfect for standard 8-foot hospital corridors, as the remaining 12 inches (6 inches on either side of the corridor) of sheet can be utilized as floor-to-wall flashing to eliminate side seams.

The varying widths also play a role in other areas of healthcare facilities, such as common areas and patient rooms. By lessening the number of seams in patient rooms, we are able to better mitigate cross-contamination, improve patient experiences, and ultimately speed up the cleaning process.

“The product is easier to clean and faster,” said Mary Fanning, DNP RN, FRE, NEA-BC, VP for nursing clinical services and associate chief nursing officer, WVU Medical Center. “It’s going to allow us to provide more time on direct care or help us get a patient in a bed quicker, which ultimately can help us serve more people and patients that need to come here for care.”

As previously noted, our new HET sheet collections were designed to withstand the rough and tumble healthcare environment. This is in large part due to the inclusion of our patented Diamond 10 Technology, which protects against scratches, stains, and scuffs to keep your floors looking newer, longer.

Perhaps more important than the product’s long lifespan, however, is the enhanced level of traction that Diamond 10 affords. This added measure of safety is essential in healthcare settings, as floors can easily become saturated, increasing the likelihood of slips and falls – something that can be detrimental to recovering patients and even the caregivers themselves.

“Slip, trip, fall is a huge thing; having workers out because of injuries that we could have prevented,” Fanning continued. “The onus is on us to make sure that we have a safe environment where they’re not going to be prone to slips, trips and falls.”

The Asana, Nidra, and Zenscape HET sheet collections are manufactured in our Stillwater, Oklahoma facility and are supported by a 10-Year Commercial Warranty. Customers can opt to add 10 additional years of overall warranty coverage by using our Strong System subfloor preparation products.

Lastly, to further improve peace of mind, these American-made collections are Low VOC and FloorScore certified, are eligible for our On&On Recycling Program, and are free of ortho-phthalates and heavy metals. Verified to be true by third-party evaluators and with Health Product Declarations (HPDs) available, it has never been easier to make a well-informed, sustainable decision as it relates to flooring.

Find out more and explore all the possibilities by just clicking here.

This article is designated as Branded Content and HCO News does not ensure the veracity or accuracy of the information included within.

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By HCO Staff

Geisinger Health System cares for over 3 million patients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey through an integrated delivery system model of healthcare, positively boosting it’s hometown economies by billions of dollars annually. Ranked one of the most innovative healthcare organizations in the country, Geisinger’s commitment to quality and innovation drives all patient care decisions and keeps the system in the forefront of America’s healthcare evolution.

How does a healthcare system with 9 hospitals, equating to over 3,000 acute care beds, manage the challenge of cleaning, changing, and replacing their privacy curtains at a time of heightened concern for infection control amid an ongoing pandemic?

They made the radical decision to standardize  system-wide, including new tracking, during the worst pandemic in recent history would seem like an impossible task. Not only did they finish the change out 6 months ahead of schedule, they were able to do it without any interruption to patient care.

“You have to look at the overall total cost of ownership. When you are dealing with disposable, you may think ‘Well this is going to cost me an extra year’ – but you are not looking at the cost of what the other product was prior. Look at your total cost, look at the time that it’s taking your environmental services team, take a look at the time to get them laundered, take a look at the replacement cost.”, says Joseph Mlinarich, associate vice president of quality, safety, and patient experience. Continuing with another fundamental thing to understand going into a project such as this, he says, “Really figure out all the rooms that truly have curtains and identify the spaces that don’t need curtains. Especially for larger organizations, do you have rooms that are no longer in-use? On The Right Track has a tool to help aid in estimating the number of curtains. It’s really important to know.”

To learn more detailed insights from operations, EVS, nursing, and executives, read the full case study comprising 9 on-the-ground interviews and a myriad of statistical data your health system can learn from and reference thanks to Geisinger leading the way.

This article is designated as Branded Content and HCO News does not ensure the veracity or accuracy of the information included within.

On The Right Track

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