Common spaces in healthcare facilities have undergone a major transformation, driven by a desire to establish a more welcoming experience for patients. In behavioral health and addiction treatment centers, the effort to create a healing and aesthetically pleasing environment also must maintain a focus on safety.
Open concept community spaces can serve multiple functions — enhancing the therapeutic process, ensuring consistent monitoring of patients, and promoting patient interaction. These spaces should be designed to limit the potential for crowding, which can trigger stress reactions in patients. Safety glass partitions can offer separation without blocking natural light, a key feature of healing environments. Community spaces also should always be designed with ease of patient navigation in mind.

Soothing colors, soft artwork and natural textures all have a calming influence on individuals who have faced major disruption in their lives. Spaces with open access to the outdoors also have become an important feature in many behavioral health facilities. These components of inviting spaces can reduce the risk of patient incidents fueled by anxiety.

The effort to promote eco-conscious living often neglects to incorporate smart decisions about the furniture we use every day. Making responsible choices about these essential products can make a world of difference for your immediate environment and for the planet.

Sustainable furniture uses materials with low environmental impact and employs an enduring design. Moreover, furniture with durable construction will result in less turnover, maximizing value for your operation. Conversely, items that are cheap in both price and construction will quickly end up filling precious space at the local landfill. The collective impact of these important purchasing decisions can be staggering. According to national data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, the total amount of furniture and furnishings taken to U.S. landfills increased from 7.6 million tons in 2005 to nearly 9.7 million tons by 2015.

Furniture Concepts' signature TOUGH STUFF! line emphasizes durability and cost-effectiveness. Built from solid wood construction to support years of heavy use, these pieces offer an ideal option for group living and other high-traffic environments. These items, protected by a 10-year warranty, will remain attractive and comfortable over time. They offer a smart choice that will minimize your entire operation's impact on the environment. 

Sustainable furniture uses materials derived from renewable sources, as well as minimal harmful pollutants that can be released into the air. The reduced environmental impact, both during construction and over years of use, represents a win-win during this time of increased environmental awareness on the local and global levels. Choices such as TOUGH STUFF! save finite resources and offer peace of mind to environmentally conscious leaders. The decisions made about the most common products used in our daily lives carry huge implications for the viability of the planet.

Demand for behavioral healthcare likely will continue to climb as a result of the coronavirus crisis, but concerns about the safety of health facilities have given pause to many people as they consider pursuing treatment. There never has been a better time for your organization to establish a fully functioning culture of safety.

In organizations with a thriving safety culture, staff members serve as the safety net for patients. As The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare states, “Trust is the foundation of a safety culture. Trust leads concerned employees to report unsafe events and identify opportunities for improvement. When leaders respond positively to these opportunities, employees are further motivated to report, which in turn results in more improvement and builds even greater levels of trust.” The Joint Commission center has initiated a program to help health care organizations improve their culture of safety, an area where the health field is seen as lagging behind other industries.

Staff members thrive in environments that maximize safety for patients and themselves. At Furniture Concepts, we offer many options that give staff the peace of mind to know their work is being conducted in a truly healing and safety-conscious environment.

Our ligature-resistant furniture, open shelving, and sloped tops on wardrobes and storage cabinets limit risk to patients and make for ease of staff inspection. We offer upholstered motion seating that gives patients the comfort of rocking and gliding, enhancing the relaxed setting that everyone values during a time of upheaval in the world around us.

In these therapeutic environments, all staff can work together to help put patients at ease amid the great uncertainty about the future. As Joint Commission President Mark R. Chassin states, “In a health care organization that has a fully functional safety culture, everyone in the organization is engaged in safety.”


https://www.centerfortransforminghealthcare.org/en/

The events of the last few weeks related to COVID-19 are creating pressure on healthcare providers of all sorts. Health & human services, behavioral healthcare, addiction recovery, and shelter providers will undoubtedly experience an increased need for programming as our country deals with the ongoing public health crisis. Our nation’s most vulnerable; including those at risk of hunger, at risk of losing housing and at risk of mental health or behavioral health emergency will be turning to providers already overwhelmed by demand.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking and tragic situation that can take place in a treatment center is patient suicide. And while it is just not possible to prevent every attempt at self-harm, progress toward minimizing these acts is being made. One important factor in the fight against self-harm is to use ligature-resistant furniture.