Furniture in the Age of COVID

FURNITURE IN

THE AGE OF COVID

Pandemic impacts this important healthcare design consideration

By Carl Kennedy

As Canadians navigate the second wave of COVID-19 and intensive care units brace for a possible resurgence, healthcare facilities are looking at ways their interior environments and protocols can impact the scale at which this infectious disease is either contained or spread to keep patients and caregivers safe. As a high touch point product, hospital furnishings should be given extra consideration when creating an infectious disease control plan.

Health Canada has developed a list of disinfectants that are supported by evidence to likely be effective when used on surfaces against the coronavirus. This is good news for the cleaning of healthcare furniture; however, to ensure longevity, furniture should be durable enough to continuously withstand constant cleaning with strong disinfectant products.

In most cases, healthcare-specific furnishings have features that inhibit bacteria traps, easing the cleaning burden on housekeeping staff. Seating manufactured specifically for healthcare environments often have removable seat and back upholstery covers, components that are effortless to replace, smooth surfaces with minimal crevices and easily accessed cleanout spaces.

Chair arm caps should be one-piece construction that is virtually indestructible and won’t crack or break. Popular arm cap materials include polyurethane, rigid polyester, glass-filled nylon or solid surface. During the era of COVID-19, solid surface has become increasingly popular on items such as bedside tabletops and overbed tables. The material is extremely durable, provides a seamless finish and is non-porous so fluids, dirt and stains cannot penetrate it. Marks on the surface can be easily removed with household cleaner.

Another infection control strategy is to simply have less surface area to clean. This can be achieved with armless chairs and by using connecting tables to reduce the number of legs to clean around.

Healthcare-grade fabrics offer antimicrobial protection, bleach-solution cleanability, fluid-barrier protection, and are soil and stain resistant. Healthcare vinyl and polyurethane upholstery materials are particularly durable and compatible with effective cleaning agents. One textile company has even developed its own patented technology that fights against COVID-19.

With a movement toward spaces that encourage patients to spread out, furniture can play an important role in keeping viruses contained. High back chairs provide a barrier between patients sitting back-to-back, seating pods separate patients from potentially contagious people, and privacy panels can be inserted between chairs in crowded waiting rooms.

Before the pandemic, Canadian hospitals would routinely reach and exceed 100 per cent capacity. COVID-19 has forced them to find creative ways of increasing their capacity. This has been achieved through the setup of field hospitals, use of hotel rooms and taking over areas in long-term care homes. These interim healthcare spaces require furniture that is easy to move and flexible, such as stacking chairs, bedside tables with casters, overbed tables and temporary beds.

The COVID-19 health crisis has inevitably influenced healthcare design considerations for the foreseeable future. These are not trends; rather, many will remain permanent standards as part of healthcare facilities’ infection control strategies that prioritize patient and staff safety.

Carl Kennedy is president of Stance Healthcare. Based in Kitchener, Ont., Stance Healthcare manufactures furniture for healing environments with a particular focus on hospitals and behavioural health facilities.