Healthcare design projects are different than other commercial interiors work. Designers have a list of needs specific to the market segment: Products need to be easily cleanable, accessibility and easy of use are important and the products must be healthy and safe to use for patients, caregivers and hospital staff.
Oh, and they need to be just as beautiful, functional and long-lasting as products designed for any other commercial space. With such a long laundry list of necessary attributes, it’s a wonder any manufacturer would try to tackle the market, yet for four days last week in Indianapolis, the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo was held, an annual gathering of those who design and research healthcare spaces and those who make products for them.
Devoted to how the design of responsibly built environments directly impacts the safety, operation, clinical outcomes, and financial success of healthcare facilities, both now and in the future, HCD Expo (as it is often called) includes a lot more than just products. It is also a show devoted to education and peer-to-peer learning, including continuing education credits for designers.
HCD included a lot of furniture makers — both specialty manufacturers devoted to the market and those who operate in several markets, including healthcare. But the expo portion of HCD isn’t just about furniture. Attendees were able to peruse healthcare products from industries as diverse as building, lighting, construction, headwalls, flooring, technology, signage, surfaces, fabrics, training, safety and art.
Spending on healthcare, especially in the U.S., is astronomical. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, healthcare spending in 2022 (the most recent year available) rose to more than $4.3 trillion. Of course, not all of that is furniture. Still, the global healthcare furniture market is expected to grow to $18.6 billion by 2033, up from $9.8 billion in 2023. The growth is being fueled by an aging demographic and a global pandemic that increased demand for hospital beds and other furniture.
Furniture makers are taking note. Haworth exhibited at HCD for the first time this year and according to a company representative at its booth, though it doesn’t have any clinical products, it has furniture that fits well in healthcare settings. Kimball, Steelcase Health and MillerKnoll all had major stands at HCD. Other furniture makers are actively entering the healthcare market, including JSI, which launched its healthcare furniture line this year and exhibited at HCD for the first time in 2024.
JSI made a splash at its first ever HCD, nabbing several Nightingale Awards, one an innovation award for guest/lounge seating for its Satisse and a silver award for Kindera in the patient seating category. Both are truly innovative products.
Satisse, designed by Mike Shields, includes a full family of seating products. It also integrates patent-pending MagLinx connectors. The strong magnets near the base of the chair legs allow them to be easily ganged and separated as needed. Kindera, JSI’s performance recliner Kindera was also created in partnership with designer Mike Shields. The designers focused on patient care by transforming the traditional dynamics of patient and caregiver interaction. Kindera’s human-centered design features the Trans4rm system that enables either arm of the recliner to retract into the frame, facilitating smooth and safe patient transfers without increasing the recliner’s footprint.
JSI initially launched its healthcare line with five products. JSI President and CEO Mike Wagner said the company had some sales in healthcare previously, but its healthcare line was launched in March. “We see this as an important (market segment) for us,” he said.
For the healthcare industry, HCD Expo is just as important as NeoCon is for commercial offices. New products are commonly launched there and this year was no exception.
Kwalu launched Ellie, a new healthcare recliner that was informed by neuroaesthetics. Designed by Von Robinson of Play Orbit Studio, Ellie’s innovative “embrace back” is designed to serve as a calming presence that gently cradles users, fostering a sense of security and comfort. The neuroaesthetic-inspired design language not only reduces anxiety, but boosts cognitive function, facilitating better communication between patients, care partners, and clinicians – ultimately leading to improved health outcomes and faster recoveries.
HCD educational offerings are excellent and includes chances for designers to earn CEUs and expand their understanding of healthcare projects. Stance Healthcare hosted a “Bites and Bits” event created to increase understanding of behavioral health design. Behavioral health designer Suzanne Fawley distilled her No. 1-ranked IDCEC course on behavioral health design by pairing five design principles with Stance Healthcare products, including the Nightingale gold award-winning Flo Lounge.
HCD is an event filled with speciality products that would never be specified in a corporate setting, for example. Lesro’s Chief Revenue Officer Les Girsky showed off the company’s newest product, the Rhapsody chair. Perfect for healthcare, Rhapsody is easy to clean and features a heavy-duty steel construction. It comes in three sizes — a standard guest chair that is rated for up to 400 pounds. The oversized Rhapsody is designed with a 500 pound capacity and the bariatric version is designed for up to 750 pounds.
Girsky outlined what designers are looking for in healthcare products. “First and foremost is cleanability,” he said. “Second is sturdiness, especially if it’s in a environment where it’s for something like a 24-hour use emergency room. They want something that looks good that they’re not going to have to replace one year, two years, three years from now. Basically, they want something that looks good that’s going to last and they don’t want to pay through the nose for it.”
Seating specialist OM won a silver and sustainability Nightingale award for its OM5 in the conference seating category. OM President Wilson Chow said simplicity is important to design into products in the healthcare space because they are such fast-paced environments. And creating products with a small footprint is important as well since healthcare facilities often use every square inch available. OM also designed OM5 to be highly flexible. Should the fabric on the seat pan wear out or get damage, it can be easily popped off and replaced without having to trash the entire chair.
The Healthcare Design Conference + Expo returns Oct. 25-28 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The 2024 Nightingale Awards were awarded to 34 products in the following categories:
Anti-Ligature & Reduced-Ligature Furnishings: Silver Award: Pineapple Contracts for Ryno Wall Desk & Wall Bed.
Architectural Products: Non-Clinical: Gold, Sustainability, and Best of Sustainability Awards: Standard Textile for AMY Privacy Curtain System.
Architectural Products: Non-Clinical: Silver Award: Accurate Lock & Hardware for Custom Design Program for Behavioral Health Safety.
Behavioral Health Bathroom Fittings & Furnishings: Gold Award: Pineapple Contracts for Arc Bathrooms.
Behavioral Health Bathroom Fittings & Furnishings: Silver Award: Safehinge Primera for Ligature-Resistant Bathroom Door.
Behavioral Health Furnishings: Gold Award: Stance Healthcare for Flo.
Behavioral Health Furnishings: Silver Award: Cortech BH for Solstice Safeguard Bed.
Carpet: Silver Award: Patcraft for Forage Soft Surface.
Carpet: Sustainability Award: Interface for Etched and Threaded.
Fabrics & Textiles: Gold Award: C.F. Stinson for Haiku.
Fabrics & Textiles: Innovation Award: Tekloom for Tekloom.
Flooring: Resilient: Gold Award: Mannington Commercial for White Sands.
Flooring: Resilient: Silver Award: Tarkett for Collective Pursuit.
Flooring: Resilient: Sustainable Award: Patcraft for ReMaterial.
Furniture: Clinician Support: Gold Award: Brewer Company for Access High-Low PLUS Power Exam Table.
Furniture: Clinician Support: Silver Award and Sustainability Award: Haworth for Soji XL Cleanable+.
Furniture: Clinician Support: Innovation Award: Cramer for Loop.
Furniture: Clinician Support: Innovation Award: Sitmatic for LChair Handler.
Furniture Collections: Silver Award: Formaspace for RGX Modular Casework.
Seating: Conference: Silver and Sustainability Award: OM for OM5.
Seating: Guest/Lounge: Gold Award: IOA Healthcare Furniture for Forest.
Seating: Guest/Lounge: Silver Award: ModuForm Inc. for ModuForm 530 Collection.
Seating: Guest/Lounge: Innovation Award: JSI for Satisse.
Seating: Guest/Lounge: Sustainability Award: Spec Furniture Inc. for Fizz.
Seating: Patient: Silver Award: JSI for Kindera.
Storage & Accessories: Gold Award: Kwalu for Ethan Collection.
Surfacing Materials & Finishes: Gold Award: Kwalu for Protea.
Technology-Integrated Solutions: Gold Award: Steelcase for Ocular View.
Technology-Integrated Solutions: Silver Award: Inpro for TAG-X® Smart Rail.
Technology-Integrated Solutions: Innovation Award: Visa Lighting for Liberty Switches.
Window Shading & Treatments: Gold Award, Innovation Award, and the Best of Innovation Award: Standard Textile for Newton Solar Shade.
Window Shading & Treatments: Silver Award and Innovation Award: Skyline Design for SDX3 SmartView.
