Furniture Should Not be an Afterthought When Reopening Offsite Healthcare Offices

The doors of many medical offices are closed and have been for several months. Doctor’s appointments via telemedicine have replaced in-office visits. However, as states begin to relax shelter-in-place orders; medical offices are quickly devising plans to return to the routine face-to-face business of healthcare. Those who are seeing patients have strict patient management and screening protocols in place. As patients slowly return to the doctor offices for check-ups and resume elective surgeries, the tables and chairs in these locations cannot be an afterthought.

Make sure your furniture is cleanable and disinfectant-friendly

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a patient can spread the virus even if the patient has no symptoms. Hand washing, masks on patients and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff will ensure safety during person-to-person contact. Patients are in constant contact with the furniture in any healthcare location. Because of the easy transmission of the coronavirus, bleach-cleanable furniture is critical now and post COVID-19.

Furniture finishes and how to clean them to reduce risk of infection

The CDC says all non-porous surfaces require soap and water cleaning before disinfecting with theEPA-approved disinfectants against COVID-19 to kill the germs and lower the risk of spreading infection. There are several types of surfaces in healthcare environments like reception area, treatment rooms and staff lounges. With these surfaces in place, are you making the best preparation for the post-COVID era? There are the wooden occasional tables and chair arms and legs coated with antimicrobial protection. Daily cleaning removes the protection. The porous wood itself quickly succumbs to the ravages of soap and water and the chemicals in the disinfectant. Wood becomes difficult to clean properly when it swells and splits. Metal chairs struggle to support a strong and clean healthcare environment. The more metal is cleaned, the more compromised its surface becomes and it rusts. Use these healthcare surfaces and Coronavirus and other pathogens are poised to spread.

No compromises with solid surfaces

Solid surfaces like the ones created by Kwalu®, Corian®, Hanex® and Krion® are non-porous. These surfaces hold up to daily cleaning and as for disinfecting, Kwalu was completely immersed in bleach for a week and emerged germ free and in pristine condition. No one is dipping furniture in healthcare in bleach, as a means to fight COVID-19, but you want surfaces in your reopening plan and in place that are bleach cleanable. COVID-19 survives on surfaces for days; consider how many patients will touch that chair arm or tabletop. These are difficult times. We will have to go to the eye doctor, the dentist and the general practitioner. Plan to create a comfortable environment with the best furniture surfaces to make the experience for everyone significantly better.

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