Kwalu has received an Innovative Technology Program Excellence Award from Vizient, Inc., the nation’s largest provider-driven health care performance improvement company. The recognition was announced at the 2023 Vizient Connections Summit, held Sept. 18-21 in Las Vegas.
The Program Excellence Awards honor Vizient-contracted suppliers for their superior service, support, reliability, ethics, and integrity in collaboration with Vizient and Vizient provider customers. This year, Vizient recognized Kwalu for providing exceptional value through the Innovative Technology Program, which identifies technologies with the potential to enhance clinical care, patient safety, healthcare worker safety or improve business operations of healthcare organizations.
Kwalu surfaces were honored with the prestigious Nightingale Sustainability Award at the 2022 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo. Kwalu finishes follow the Healthier Hospital guidelines of sustainability while maintaining the durability, cleanability, and 10-year warranty that is the foundation of all Kwalu design.
Kwalu’s Anti-Aging Surfaces received the Nightingale Silver Award for Surfacing Materials and Finishes at the 2022 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo. Kwalu surfaces shift the long-term impressions and experiences of medical spaces for the patients and for their caretakers.
Kwalu surfaces, already multi-award winners, earned the 2021 Nightingale Innovation Award for Metallics That Aren’t Metal in the Surfacing Materials Category. The judges were impressed that the metallic finishes look exactly like metal but have none of the drawbacks of metal, such as the Kwalu materiality cannot rust. Metals are cold, Kwalu finishes are not.
Kwalu is once again honored for its innovative surfaces receiving Nightingale Gold Award for Metallics That Aren’t Metal in the Surfacing Materials Category. The Nightingale judges said the metallic finishes were so authentic looking you could not tell they were not metal. They agreed the material technology innovation that creates the metallic finishes offer long term cleanability and durability.
Kwalu received a Nightingale Innovation Award for the Modena Patient Chair and Ottoman in the Seating: Patient Category. The competition judges were intrigued by the chair’s flex back and the problem-solving smaller footprint of the chair, the storability of the ottoman and the security of the load locking casters. This chair and ottoman are a design collaboration of Tara Rae Hill of Little Fish Think Tank and the Kwalu Design Studio.
Kwalu’s surfaces, already multi-award winning, received the coveted Innovation Interior Products & Solutions Award for Surfacing Materials & Finishes. Kwalu introduced Metallic-Looking Finishes that Aren’t Metal. The new metallic solid surfaces, offer the allure of metal but unlike metal, will never rust regardless of cleaning chemicals or harsh environment. The judges agreed that Kwalu’s stunning product finishes are designed with material technology innovation that offers both long term cleanability and durability.
The Modena Lounge Collection won GOLD in the Healthcare Guest and Lounge Seating category. This collection was designed by Tara Rae Hill, LittleFISH THINK TANK in collaboration with Kwalu® Design Studio. Judges were impressed by the faceted edges and frames of the products, made of Kwalu’s proprietary material. Plus the beautiful lines of the cleanout.
Earning Gold for Healthcare Patient Seating is Kwalu’s Modena Patient Chair and Ottoman designed by Tara Rae Hill, LittleFISH THINK TANK in collaboration with Kwalu® Design Studio. The Best of NeoCon judges liked the smaller footprint of the chair and ottoman, as opposed to a recliner in the same space.
Winning a Silver award for Healthcare Guest and Lounge Seating are the Cori Lounge and Wingback. This collection was designed by the team at CannonDesign® Chicago who created sculptural designed lounge chair that delivers a hospitality element to healthcare waiting spaces, with soft curves and a privacy supporting high back. The judges were impressed with the overall aesthetic, the replaceable seat cushion and base, and option for swivel base.
Kwalu is the 2021 recipient of the coveted overall “Healthcare’s Best Product Solution” Design Connections Award. Sponsored by Interiors and Sources Magazine, Design Connections brings together leading healthcare designers and manufacturers at the leading edge of healthcare design to discuss the future needs and trends of the emerging market as it relates to design, safety and function. Kwalu’s core value furnishing solutions of durability, cleanability, and beautiful design proved to be the winning combination.
GOOD DESIGN® is one of the most recognized programs for design excellence worldwide. GOOD DESIGN® honors the achievements of the best industrial and graphic designers and world manufacturers for their pursuit of extraordinary design excellence.
Kwalu winners of the 2020 GOOD DESIGN® Award:
Modena Lounge Series
Diamante Lounge Series
Emarese Lounge Collection
Modena Lounge, Love Seat, and Sofa provide the ultimate in comfortable seating in lobbies and lounges. The angled seat cushions provide extra support for calves and knees. Modena’s leg and arm combo are made of Kwalu Classic everlasting and bleach cleanable material and feature a unique tapered and faceted edged shape design.
Diamante Lounge, Love Seat and Sofa is a collection of high performance upholstered and beveled shaped lounge seating. This collection design features integrated cascading arms and lumbar support. It’s base and legs are made of Kwalu Classic material, guaranteed to look like new for a decade.
The Emarese Lounge collection features a Lounge, Love Seat and Sofa of bold, modern design. From the elevated seat cushions to the arms creating a smooth and graceful curve that hugs the user’s back, this collection is the definition of comfortable seating. The Kwalu Classic material wall saver legs extending slightly up the back are a dramatic design feature.
In 2019, ResInnova labs conducted a study to compare steel and Kwalu’s solid surface efficacy testing for healthcare furniture. Kwalu submitted a scientific poster that highlighted ResInnova’s study concluded that, when combined with proper cleaning protocols, Kwalu’s surface harbors 92% less C.diff bacteria than metal, and the percentage was likely understated. The scientist at TIPS voted Kwalu as one of the Top Innovations of 2019.
The Infection Prevention Strategy (TIPS) is a not for profit that exists to advance innovations, ideas, and processes that make a difference in global health. TIPS extends to 30+ countries and is the key strategic partner for many notable organizations, initiatives, and events. In the past few years, TIPS has contributed millions in Scientific Impact. Many of their successes are published on Open Access Journal www.InfectionControl.tips.
The Prizzi Lounge Chair by Kwalu® received the Nightingale Gold Award in the Seating: Guest/Lounge category. The award was presented at the annual Healthcare Design Expo and Conference. Presented by Healthcare Design and Contract Magazine in partnership with the Center for Health Design, the Nightingale Awards recognize contributions to the healthcare built environment through product design and innovations that may help promote a cleaner healthcare environment. Designed to improve the overall wait experience, the Prizzi Lounge Chair fits aesthetically in modern or transitional wellness spaces with ease. It also features our proprietary award-winning finish. Kwalu’s innovative surfaces withstand harsh chemicals and provide long term cleanability in a healthcare environment.
The Prizzi Lounge chair by Kwalu® received the prestigious Best of NeoCon Award at this year’s show in Chicago. Prizzi was awarded gold by the Best of NeoCon jury in the Healthcare Guest and Lounge Seating category and it was the only product to win, place or show in that category; an exceptional honor.
The jurors agreed the Prizzi is a sleek lounge chair that fits aesthetically in modern or transitional wellness spaces with ease, providing an extremely comfortable place to relax. Kwalu’s patented steel-reinforced joint system is an important design and functionality feature of the Prizzi. It features an upholstered back and seat; with an integrated seat cushion and a concealed clean out. But most importantly, the Prizzi arms, back and legs are built from Kwalu’s award winning innovative surfaces that stand up to harsh chemicals and provide long term cleanability in healthcare environments.
Kwalu® healthcare furniture wins the very prestigious 2019 Vizient Innovative Technology Seal from Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the country. The contract was awarded for Kwalu’s GetWell Surfaces durable healthcare furniture line and based on the recommendation of hospital experts from one of Vizient’s member-led councils.
Vizient represents a diverse membership base that includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care providers and represents approximately $100 billion in annual purchasing volume. Through its Innovative Technology Program, Vizient works with member-led councils and task forces to review potentially innovative products. If it is determined that a product is innovative, Vizient may award a contract outside of the competitive bid cycle.
Kwalu® is the recipient of the prestigious 2017 Nightingale Innovation Award for Surfacing Materials. Kwalu received the award for its innovative surfaces that can stand harsh chemicals and provide long term cleanability in a healthcare environment. The Carrara Sleeper Sofa is one of our many healthcare products featuring Kwalu’s proprietary finishes. The finishes looks like wood but are actually made from a ground-breaking, solid surface, high-impact-resistant polymer which means they don’t have any of the drawbacks of wood. Chair frames and arm caps, tables and casegoods are moisture impervious, non-coated, non-porous, graffiti-resistant, easy to clean, maintenance-free, and are available with optional UV protection.
Kwalu makes furniture that addresses the real healthcare issues facing patients and families who enter healthcare environments every day. In 2016, Kwalu was awarded the coveted Nightingale Gold Award for the Caterina Guest Collection, presented by Healthcare Design and Contract Magazine in partnership with the Center for Health Design. The Nightingale Awards are healthcare design awards that recognize contributions to the healthcare-built environment through product design and innovation that actually aid in healing.
The Caterina was selected because of its potential contribution to a healing environment, its functionality, quality, durability, aesthetics and style, pricing and innovation. It provides a seating solution that maintains its visual allure, while supporting hospitals’ infection prevention protocols with furniture surfaces that are easy to clean, year after year. The collection was designed by Alison Jones and Kathy Isogai, LeVino Jones Medical Interiors, Inc. The Caterina Collection offers seating and occasional tables that can be used throughout a hospital or outpatient facility: waiting areas, chapel, clinical spaces, exam rooms, dining areas, administration offices and medical offices. Additionally, this collection includes a care-specific Behavioral Health chair and bariatric option of the same design. The entire collection meets and exceeds the rigorous standards for infection control, cleanability, sustainability and durability required for a healthcare environment.
For the second consecutive year, Kwalu is the recipient of the prestigious, “Best Overall Design Strategy in Healthcare” Design Connections Award, as voted by leading healthcare designers in the industry at Design Connections 2017. This event was sponsored by Interior and Sources Magazine, in conjunction with NGage® Events. Design Connections brings together top interior designers in the healthcare industry and manufacturers at the leading edge of health care design to discuss the future needs and trends of the emerging healthcare market as it relates to design, safety and function.