Facility designer finds comfortable—and proportional—seating

While the population of Central New York State is shrinking in number, there is a need to accommodate those who are growing in size as patients and visitors to the University Hospital and the new Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, New York. Between 20 and 30 percent of the American population is obese and the numbers continue to grow, according to the Centers for Disease Control. As the number of people with special seating needs grows, so does the need to create furniture that doesn’t segregate them from the rest of the population.

“We were near the end of an elaborate furniture selection process with nursing staff, environmental services and a committee at the hospital when I discovered the Arissa Chair at HEALTHCAREDESIGN08 conference. I came upon the KI booth and was taken with Arissa’s appearance.”

“It was bariatric but it was unlike the others. It was a well-designed chair that did not look or say, “bariatric”. It is a nice-looking piece of furniture. When I returned to Syracuse, I downloaded Arissa images from the KI web site and sent them to the committee saying, ‘I know it is late in the process, but take a look at this seating.”

Everyone liked the seating and immediately saw how it solved a problem.

The University Hospital bought 60 chairs for use in family and consult lounges. “The design team had settled on a line of lounge furniture and had selected a bariatric chair, but they migrated to the Arissa Chairs for all lounge seating except the sofas,” says Thomas.”  The single seating, installed between June and September, uses a vinyl seat and fabric back with a standard KI textile made with Crypton.

The staff reaction to Arissa seating has been universally positive, especially when people sit in it, and more so for those who don’t need bariatric seating and do not realize that is what is was designed for, according to Thomas.

The furniture installation was part of a phased opening of a five-story addition to the hospital, where the top two floors are a children’s hospital. Further, there is ongoing  phased renovation of a nursing unit tower that also includes converting semi-private rooms to all-private rooms through 2011.

Bariatric seating will figure into all the private room designs, according to the facility designer. The plan is to place two beds in the same physical footprint where six beds exist now. “We are committed to patient- and family-centered care that will allow patients and family to spend the night together,” says Thomas. With changing medical technology, more equipment is located around the patient, says Thomas, and the rooms have to accommodate more.

To keep up with design planning for the Level One Trauma Center at the University Hospital, Thomas attends the ASHE annual meeting, ASHE PDC and will attend HEALTHCARE DESIGN09 in Orlando, as he does every year.

For a closer look at facility designer Burt Thomas’s decisions surrounding the selection of furniture for Golisano Children’s Hospital and the University Hospital, watch this video: www.youtube.com/kinetwork#p/a