By Thomas Ricciardelli
Thomas Ricciardelli
When you think of all the advances in medicine over the years, it’s staggering. While floor surfaces used for these groundbreaking medical advances have progressed a long way since the days when doctors worked on dirt and wooden floors, flooring hasn’t advanced as rapidly–until recently.
When it comes to flooring for a healthcare facility, there is no more important variable than cleanliness. This means not only having a surface that can be easily cleaned, but one that contains seams that will not harbor bacteria that can cause infection.
How serious of an issue is this? Very serious. In fact, it’s estimated that five percent of the people who enter a hospital or healthcare facility will contract some type of infection from that visit. Perhaps that’s why Medicare will no longer cover the care for infections contracted as a result of a visit to a hospital or healthcare facility.
While infections may be below the surface, the flooring surface of a healthcare facility also plays a huge part in the care patients receive—far more than you could ever imagine.
Think about it. The doctor and medical staff have to be secure on that surface while administering treatment. An unstable or slippery surface can make even something as routine as opening up and saying “aah” an adventure.
Beyond medical staff, patient welfare is also a major consideration. Patients, their families, their guardians, delivery personnel, etc. all come and go to various areas of a healthcare facility or hospital. You need a floor that’s functional and comfortable to walk on and stand on for long periods, while also standing up to mishaps like the occasional water or fluid spill etc.
Covering all these variables in one type of flooring hasn’t always been possible for most healthcare facilities. Most facilities have wisely opted to choose flooring that minimizes spread of infection. That’s often led to flooring that perhaps was not as comfortable for staff. Consequently, the number of workers compensation claims for workers at healthcare facilities is often disproportionate than to other industries.
Healthcare facilities also face another challenge as it pertains to the use of electronic equipment. Computers, imaging machines and other electronics transmit sensitive and critical data. Having flooring that’s conducive to the transmission of electronic data, ESD flooring, is extremely important in maintaining the integrity of that information.
Yet the reality is many facilities, assuming they have the budget, are challenged from an operational standpoint as to how to make a flooring replacement happen.
New technologies and floorings have made upgrading more tangible than ever before. SelecTech is one of the companies leading the advances in flooring technologies. Those advances include an interlocking technology that enables flooring to be installed without messy and environmentally unfriendly adhesives or excessive dust. Besides the environmental benefit, this cutting-edge technology dramatically reduces installation times as flooring can be installed in sections. This means it’s possible to replace the flooring in a facility without closing off areas and rerouting traffic. Translation: No down time.
The most important feature of interlocking technology for a healthcare facility is that it minimizes the seam between tiles. In fact, with the use of tiles that employ interlocking technology and a seam sealer, you can virtually eliminate moisture that gets into the seam, helping to reduce the likelihood of infection-causing bacteria to grow.
Some of the newer ESD floorings feature vinyl urethane surfaces that are not only more comfortable but easy to maintain. This minimizes slip-and-fall potential and reduces potential workers comp claims (e.g. a slip on one of these surfaces may result in a bruise, but on an outdated one could result in a break).
Beyond all the other benefits with the newest floorings—interlocking tiles, seam closures, ESD, reduced installation times, comfort, etc.—is the newest wrinkle of all—green flooring. Newer technologies like those employed by SelecTech use 70% recycled materials and are 100% recyclable enable hospitals and healthcare facilities to become greener without risk of infection while improving the look, feel, comfort and, most importantly, safety of the facility.
Perhaps more than any other kind of endeavor, the treatment of a patient requires precision among the parties providing that care. With the right flooring, healthcare facilities and the dedicated professionals who work there have a great leg to stand on.
Thomas Ricciardelli is the president of SelecTech, Inc.
