Healthcare Design - January/February 2025 - 42

A
TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION
THAT combines interactive
positive distractions
and room controls to support
de-escalation in behavioral
health settings.
A reusable fabric privacy
curtain that reduces the
strain and time required
for staff to change out curtains. And a manualoperated
window shade that eliminates cords,
improving both safety and maintenance.
These are some of the product innovations
that rose to the top in the 2024 Nightingale
Awards product design competition at the
Healthcare Design Conference + Expo, held
last October in Indianapolis.
This annual program recognizes product design
and innovations that support healing and
productivity. As part of the judging process, a
jury of healthcare architects, interior designers,
and facility executives visits with exhibitors
prior to the expo hall opening to examine
the products, hear about specifi c features from
participating companies, and ask questions of
the manufacturers as they consider how the
entries meet the awards program criteria. The
judges then determine gold and silver winners
in specific product categories, from architectural
products to fl ooring and furniture, as well
as recognize those for sustainability and innovation
advancements. In 2024, 34 products received
awards across 16 categories. (For more
on this year's winners, turn to a special section
starting on page 20.)
While the experience gives jurors a frontrow
seat to observe new products and design
features for healthcare environments, it also
provides an opportunity for them to gauge the
overall market. To hear their insights, Healthcare
Design invited Nightingale jurors to a
roundtable discussion where they shared what
stood out to them at the HCD Conference as
well as what product needs and challenges are
still on their radars.
In December 2024, Editor-in-Chief Anne
DiNardo moderated a discussion via Zoom with
Kathleen Benoit, associate principal, project
manager, Architects Alaska (Wasilla, Alaska);
Lauren Cole, senior director, planning and design,
Providence Health (Portland, Ore.); Angela
Crum, associate partner, director, healthcare
practice, Kirksey Architecture (North Texas);
42
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
Kathleen Benoit
Julie Dumser, RN, principal, Branches Health Consulting (Indianapolis);
Christina Early, project manager-construction, Hamilton Healthcare System
(Dalton, Ga.); Heather Flannery, principal, Hord Coplan Macht (Baltimore);
Pam Houston, architect, healthcare planner, CPL Architecture
Engineering Planning (Raleigh, N.C.); Margi Kaminski, principal, health
interiors practice leader, CannonDesign (Chicago); and Jennifer Kenson,
principal, FCA (Philadelphia). Read on to hear what they shared.
WINNERS' CIRCLE
Lauren Cole
While continued advancements to products for healthcare environments,
including improved aesthetics and expanded color and textile
options, made an impression on jurors, the products that really stood
out demonstrated a clear understanding of facilities' operational and
clinical challenges and provided solutions to address them. " The entries
that we were excited about were actively solving problems that our
teams, whether its design or facilities, are up against every day, " says
Cole of Providence Health.
One of those winning products was Standard Textile's AMY Privacy
Angela Crum
Julie Dumser
Curtain, a reusable, all-fabric curtain with a Y-Hook tab design, says Cole.
The design replaces plastic, metal, hooks, grommets, or snaps, supporting
rapid change-outs and laundering, which helps address staffi ng shortages
and room turnover. " It's genius, " Cole says. " It might seem like a small detail,
but it solves a lot of operational problems for us. "
Other jurors agreed, awarding the curtain system a Gold Award in the
Architectural Products: Non-Clinical category and the Best of Sustainability
Award. " I think [the company has] done its homework, " says Hamilton
Healthcare System's Early. " They've listened. I think more manufacturers
can have those same advantages. If they take a minute and go back to the
root cause [of an issue], they can come up with some great solutions. "
In addition to solutions-oriented products, the jurors say they were also
impressed with entries that are backed by research or data about their effectiveness
in real-world environments-especially as internal design
teams at facilities continue to run lean. " Having someone help us with the
burden of post-occupancy evaluation would be incredibly helpful, " says
Cole. " We all understand the value of it, but we don't have the time or the
resources to devote to it. "
During Recornect's presentation of its CoWin Digital Media Wall, a
technology solution featuring a customizable interface with applications,
games, and room controls to support de-escalation in behavioral health
settings, company representatives shared research with Nightingale jurors
showing that the product resulted in a 60 percent reduction in the use of
restraints. Those fi ndings-along with the product's all-in-one-solution for
behavioral health environments-helped earn CoWin the Best of Competition
Award. The technology product also can be customized to support different
patient needs, providing a fl exible solution that can appeal to a variety
of age ranges. " Having a screen in a patient room is nothing new, nor is
the surround for protection and ligature resistance, " CPL's Houston says.
" It was more the way it's being programmed and the way it's being utilized
in the room-that interactive component is a huge part of it. "
The panelists say they also appreciated product features that are more
accessible to a broad range of users of diff erent ages and abilities. For example,
the solar shades with Newton High-Speed Lite Lift technology by
Standard Textile and Altex feature a loop at the end of the wand that can
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Healthcare Design - January/February 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - January/February 2025