The Importance of Materials Selection in Hospital Design and Products

Jan 30, 2020

art line whiteboards

What’s it made from?

It’s one of the most important questions a hospital can ask when purchasing anything for their facility. The materials used to create medical devices, facility furniture and many other tools used in healthcare settings have long-lasting, performance-impacting effects. That’s why facilities should be concerned with what they are purchasing is made from.

How Material Selection Impacts Hospitals

There are many reasons why surgical tools are made from stainless steel. This material is highly resistant to corrosion and bacteria growth, making these tools more sanitary and easily cleaned after every use. Material selection is also important in hospital flooring, where materials like linoleum are used because they can also be coated with finishes that prevent staining from bodily fluids (something that is necessary in areas like patient rooms and operating rooms). Hospitals also consider everything from slip resistance to sound dampening capabilities, cushioning and sanitation when choosing the right flooring for their facility.

Why is all of this important? Choosing the right materials will result in greater efficiency from staff, fewer hospital acquired infections and patient falls and better ROI on everything purchased for a facility. In short: choosing the right material will save hospitals time, money and numerous headaches down the road.

Material Selection is Important for Whiteboards

Hospitals need the best ROI and performance out of everything placed in their facility. It’s bad for efficiency, safety and business overall to invest in something cheap, low-quality or ineffective. This is as true for surgical tools as it is for facility flooring, furniture and even whiteboards.

If you are going to invest in quality products, invest in everything you place at your facility. A hospital whiteboard is not simply something that is placed on a wall for decoration. It is a vital communication tool used to help treat patients, increase patient satisfaction, make care teams job’s more streamlined and easier to do, and add to what your facility has to offer patients.

What Materials Are Best for Whiteboards?

When it comes to hospital grade whiteboards, quality materials must be used to achieve the desired durability and performance. At Ghent Healthcare, we specialize in two primary whiteboard surfaces: our original whiteboard surface (with our patented VividShieldTM coating) and our high-quality glass whiteboards. Both are excellent choices for healthcare settings because they:

 

- Are durable and long-lasting, and come with a limited lifetime warranty
- Are made from non-porous materials (making them more resistant to bacteria growth)
- Are easy to wipe clean with many industrial grade cleaners
- Are easy to write on and resistant to ghosting and staining from repeated use over time
- Can be made with magnetic surfaces
- Can be customized with colors, images, logos and much more

 

Our original custom whiteboards can also be customized with a variety of frames, including wood and aluminum, allowing designers to match the aesthetic of any facility. There are many options, and it all begins with choosing the material that is right for your facility.

 

Interested in designing a board? We make it easy. Start creating your board with our online BoardBuilder tool.

 

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