Healthcare design has become so complex that Barbara Dellinger believes designers must specialize in it to properly create spaces for it. There are extensive health and safety concerns that must be address and it is a market that is convulsing with change following the pandemic and continued consolidation of healthcare systems. In short, it is not the kind of market an interior designer can dabble in and succeed.
Dellinger should know. With more than 40 years experience designing healthcare facilities through her company, Dellinger Solutions, she has seen the market change first hand. She is also on the board of the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers (AAHID) and was a presenter at the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo, which wrapped up last week in New Orleans.
“Designers who work on healthcare projects must have a unique set of skills and a deep knowledge,” she said. “When I was director of design and design research at Adventist HealthCare and an interior designer wanted to work with us, if they told us they worked in every vertical market, I might listen to them, but I never hired them. Designing for healthcare spaces takes a specialized approach.”
Perhaps that’s why the HCD Conference + Expo continues to grow. The conference and expo attracted more than 4,000 attendees to the Big Easy to network, learn and source products for the healthcare market. Learning is certainly a huge part of the event. The conference had more than 100 educational sessions providing the latest research, trends, and strategies in the healthcare design industry. The event also brought together industry leaders from around the country. The exhibit hall featured hundreds of exhibitors, many of them healthcare furniture companies, that are showcasing the latest innovations in healthcare design products and services. Inspirational keynotes, panel discussions, facility tours, and networking were also important aspects of the conference.
Many of the industry’s largest manufacturers show at the expo, including Steelcase, MillerKnoll, Teknion and Global. The exhibition hall was filled with brands that specialize in healthcare as well, such as Stance Healthcare, Carolina, Krug and Wieland. Other brands better known for office furniture such as SitOnIt, Arcadia, Versteel and 9to5 Seating were exhibiting at the show as well, making sure attendees understand that they have products that work well in healthcare settings too.
Nearly all the manufacturers who exhibited at the expo portion of the event said HCD is one of the top events they attend all year.
“We’re back and really focused on healthcare,” said Brooke Failey, a product manager with Steelcase Health. “This is such a strong show, which is not surprising since return to the office is muddying everyone’s vision on contract furniture. Healthcare projects remain strong across the board.”
The show is so important that several brands were launching new products at the event. Steelcase Health launched two new products at HCD: The Radia patient chair and the Convey Cart. MillerKnoll launched a sensory-friendly chair that it co-designed with Jefferson Health in Philadelphia.
“MillerKnoll is so strong in research,” said Michelle Ossman, director of healthcare knowledge and innovation. “There’s a reason we have some product lines that are still in demand 50 years after they first came out. That level of research and having clinicians be part of that work, I think is a critical thing that we do here.”
One of the clear trends at HCD was a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, especially as it relates to neurodiverse patients and mental health. Ossman said when designers work on creating inclusive spaces, it helps everyone. Two good examples of that idea are curb cutouts and push bars for doors. Both were designed to help with accessibility, which they have. But they also help everyone — caregivers pushing a stroller easily access sidewalks and those with a handful of packages can more simply exit a building.
HCD attendees also spotted another important trend in healthcare: A move away from cold, clinical feeling spaces and toward hospitality.
Falkbuilt’s stand was a good example. Its design was inspired by Arcosanti, the experimental town with a bronze bell casting business 70 miles north of Phoenix. It used desert Southwest colors and soft, neutral tones to create a full healthcare space — from the waiting room to the patient room.
“We wanted this space to stimulate the imagination of healthcare space designers,” said President Thom Hinton. “Falkbuilt empowers design and empowers construction. About a quarter of our business right now is healthcare. By this time next year, we expect 50% of it will be.”
The expo also included a number of specialty healthcare furniture makers. Cramer is a company that has been around for more than 100 years. It started out making safes and during World War II, it made seats for the B-4 Bomber. That lead to the company making healthcare seating, a market that it really embraced beginning in the 2010s, said Abby Blackstock, a salesperson at the company.
“Healthcare furniture is different because it is all about being able to easily clean it and for it to be extremely durable. The design and aesthetics used to not mean much to healthcare furniture makers, but it does now. Design is definitely important to us,” she said.
Cramer was showing off its Helix Chair, a skinned polyurethane seat for use in clinical settings. It is comfortable as well as attractive, despite its robust design and focus on easy-to-clean surfaces.
Moduform is a behavioral health furniture maker. Its rotomolded furniture has to be seamless so patients cannot hurt themselves while sitting in the chairs and heavy enough to make them difficult to throw or use as a weapon. Owner Josh Weissman said his father started the company in 1976, a time (like now) when a lot of government funding was going to address mental health issues. To show the durability of the company’s chairs, Weissman turned one on its side and stood on top of it. “Behavioral health furniture is a totally unique market,” he said. “Furniture must be able to last, but it still has to be comfortable and look good.”
