Important characteristics for healthcare furniture play a large role in infection prevention. In a value-driven healthcare economy, preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) to promote positive health outcomes is instrumental for providing safe, high-quality care.
Below, we introduce recommended healthcare furniture surfaces and features with a simple goal: to help provide easier cleaning methods.
Why Are These Important Healthcare Furniture Features Recommended?
Patients aren’t the only victims of contracting HAIs. Arising specifically within healthcare settings, HAIs also place multi-disciplinary care teams and other health system staff at risk, which can negatively affect institutional well-being. Complications can have a significant professional and financial burden on an organization.
A recent, peer-reviewed research collaboration funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Using the Health Care Physical Environment to Prevent and Control Infection, summarizes that “…the continued prevalence of HAIs indicates a need for a better understanding of how aspects of the built environment relate to the transmission of infection, and what design, construction and operational changes can be made in the built environment to support HAI prevention.”(1)
Recommended Furniture Surface Characteristics for Healthcare
In the next 5-part blog series, Shield will talk about how acrylic solid surface contributes to each recommended furniture surface characteristic for healthcare: The five key furniture characteristics for healthcare recommended on page 107 of the guide are:(2)
- Durability: Furnishings should be easy to maintain and repair. Items that are scratched or chipped allow for the accumulation of microorganisms and are more difficult to clean and disinfect.
- Cleanability: Furnishings must withstand cleaning and be compatible with hospital-grade detergents, cleaners, and disinfectants.
- Inability to Support Microbial Growth: Materials such as fabric and wood that hold moisture are more likely to support microbial growth. Materials such as metal and hard plastics are less likely to support microbial growth. Wet organic substrates (e.g. wood) should be avoided in hospital areas with immunocompromised patients.
- Surface Porosity: Microorganisms have been shown to survive on porous surfaces.
- Absence of Seams: Seams trap bacteria and are difficult areas to clean.
Additionally, the publication stresses the importance of bringing together a multi-disciplinary design team during all phases of planning, construction, and renovation of healthcare facilities. This collaborative approach introduces a diversity of expertise, and can not only contribute to better outcomes, but “a proactive approach to safe facility design will lower costs incurred during design and construction and also influence long-term operational costs.”(1)
The CDC, in partnership with The Health Research & Educational Trust of the American Hospital Association, the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the Society of Hospital Medicine, and the University of Michigan, collaborated to produce this best practice guide to help healthcare organizations create safe, healing environments.
Stay Informed on the Latest Innovations in Acrylic Solid Surface Design
Shield believes that manufacturers are responsible for bringing innovative products to market that comply with guidelines and recommendations drawn from peer-reviewed research, such as those set forth by this guide. Our acrylic solid surface furniture and equipment were born out of necessity and refined through collaborative, multi-disciplinary design groups.
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Do you have a design project that you think would be well-suited for acrylic solid surface? Contact Shield to learn more about our custom design services. Download the full guide from ASHE’s News & Resources section of their website here.
1 The American Society for Health Care Engineering of the American Hospital Association. (2019). Using the health care physical environment to prevent and control infection. Pg 6.Retrieved from http://www.ashe.org/resources/pdfs/cdc/CDCfullbookDIGITAL.pdf
2 The American Society for Health Care Engineering of the American Hospital Association. (2019). Using the health care physical environment to prevent and control infection. Pgs 106-107. Retrieved from http://www.ashe.org/resources/pdfs/cdc/CDCfullbookDIGITAL.pdf