Healthcare Design - January/February 2021 - 20

NCE COVID -19 emerged in the U.S.
in spring 2020, queries regarding
healthcare design product cleanability were coming in " fast and furious, "
said Mark Alan, senior vice president,
product management and development at Inpro. While many cleaning solutions and chemicals had already been
vetted by the building products manufacturer, others required
tracking down increasingly hard-to-come-by disinfectants to
conduct testing. " That was a great alert that [cleanability] was an
important part of how to combat COVID-19, " Alan said during a
Jan. 5 roundtable discussion hosted by Healthcare Design.
Alan joined a panel of professionals representing healthcare owners,
designers, and product manufacturers who discussed the evolution of designing and specifying products to support the healthcare industry's infection control initiatives as well as how the process will be redefined in
the aftermath of COVID-19. Additional participants were Leilani Barkan,
interior designer, Cleveland Clinic; Nancy Boldt, system manager furnishings, planning, design, and construction, Advocate Aurora Health; Meghan
McBride, vice president, strategic accounts, healthcare, education, and
government, Tarkett; Sylvia Nash, vice president, healthcare, Kwalu; Nan
Schramm, associate partner, E4H Environments for Health Architecture;
Dr. Thomas Schwieterman, vice president, clinical affairs and chief medical officer, Midmark Corp.; Jennifer Wilcynski, associate, Orcutt/Winslow; and Sarah Wolfe, creative director, contract, Crypton.
The group first explored the evolution of designing for infection control over recent years, including the growing need to support the reduction of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that's been emphasized
by payment models shifting toward avoiding never events such as infections. This has invited an industry-wide transition toward durable,
cleanable, and seamless solutions-important components in an infection control strategy. For example, McBride said, fundamentals of infection control include cleaning and disinfection but also avoiding the
creation of germ-breeding grounds in the first place (i.e., reveals, seams,
crevices, etc.-areas that might require a toothbrush to clean).
Products designed to such standards ultimately helped stem the tide of
COVID-19 calls that Alan described-for example, solutions with properties that inherently inhibit the growth of pathogens didn't require adjustments and surfaces capable of withstanding chemical disinfectants such
as quaternary ammonium were easily cleaned. Beyond that, manufacturers shared, companies worked to provide more accessible guidelines on
cleaning protocols and enhanced existing offerings to meet pandemicrelated needs. For example, Midmark offered complimentary contact
tracing as part of its real-time location system (RTLS) services and
Crypton enhanced its distribution of a proprietary fabric disinfectant.
Fortunately, Nash noted, COVID-19 is easy to kill. But how exactly the
range of design products used within a healthcare space are cleaned and

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1

how materials perform against infection risk can range significantly.
" I think, overall, what we need to be
doing is a more bundled approach, "
she said-for example, exploring options available that could provide a total solution for flooring, fabric, surfaces,
etc. If anything, though, COVID-19 has
inspired the need for true collaboration
between design teams as well as healthcare staff members like environmental services (EVS), infection prevention, and nurses
to identify what's best. " In the past, it looks like
[collaboration] was a checkmark. I think it needs
to be more than that, and we just got a huge wakeup call with COVID-19 because there are worse
things on the horizon, " Nash said.
A N I N T E G R AT E D A P P R O A C H

Part of pushing collaboration begins with having
the right players at the design table, the group
discussed. For example, Boldt said Advocate
Aurora Health has included infection prevention staff in design meetings since before 2015,
helping the team be mindful of specifics such as
the workflow of a unit and how clinical staff will
move through it. Meeting the organization's
sustainability standards as well as Healthier
Hospitals Initiative requirements is yet another
hurdle a product must clear. To that end, Boldt
said she's currently working with Inpro to develop a cubical curtain that's wipeable and sustainable (all existing curtains were taken down
immediately after COVID-19 and replaced with
vinyl shower curtains for cleanability). " That's
where this level of cooperation needs to be-
manufacturers, designers, but also the people on
the frontlines, " Alan added.
It's important to understand the role of EVS
in the maintenance of specified products, as
well-something that's been realized even
more so during COVID-19. For example, manufacturers might recommend that after a disinfectant is applied and dries, the surface should
be wiped off to prevent damage to surfaces. " We
found out even before this pandemic, that is not
happening. Our staff doesn't have the time, "
Boldt said. Cleveland Clinic is facing a similar

HCDMAGAZINE.COM

http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM

Healthcare Design - January/February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - January/February 2021