Located in Milwaukee, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin (CHW) has been named one of America's Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.  It is a leader in blood and marrow transplants, as well as a designated Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (a national honor that recognizes nursing excellence). Dave Schlapman (VP Sales, Forrer Business Interiors) and Ryan Grote (Regional Sales Manager, Nurture) joined forces and worked alongside the IT department at CHW to position Pocket as a mobile work solution.

This particular project came about as a direct result of Dave's relationship and constant contact with CHW; specifically as it relates to consulting in solutions for their clinical and administrative spaces.  Dave connected with IT in regards to these solutions and learned of their large investments in electronic medical records systems.  He learned that the investments did not stop there - they also included investments in the equipment that supported EMR.  While they had some past experience with "carts", they were looking to see what other options might be available to support their doctors/clinical staff (and their laptops) during rounds.

In September of 2011, Dave and Ryan introduced Pocket to the IT department at CHW. This introduction was in the form of a presentation (no product) and was accompanied by in-depth conversations on application. In December, an official evaluation of products began, and a Pocket sample was presented to the IT decision maker. Initial feedback was positive; specifically as it related to simplicity and ease of movement. The simple surface (perfect for laptops!) was appealing as a solution for rounding doctors.

Following the initial favorable reaction in January, Dave had the opportunity to deliver three Pockets to be used for an in-depth trial and evaluation. Forrer had invested in ten Pockets during the initial sample promotion and Ryan provided assistance in retrofitting some of the smaller tops on these existing Pockets.  After a month long hands-on trial with the units, CHW selected Pocket as the solution for the entire facility. They placed an order for 144 carts that will be delivered late May or early June.

This success story is a great example of how critical it is to understand the IT mindset as it relates to technology-related equipment purchases. Congratulations to Forrer Business Interiors, Dave and Ryan on this impressive win! 

Neighbor was very leading edge when it won Neocon Silver, and after recent waiting research, it is evident that it still solves problems that exist in waiting spaces today! It is in line with current trends and has significant market potential. We've taken feedback from existing customers and have been working diligently to enhance the comfort of Neighbor in addition to providing some increased flexibility in the product line. We are now ready to launch these changes.

The enhanced product will have minor visual changes and additional structural changes.

Existing style numbers will remain the same, so moving from the old to new will not require re-specification using a different style number; however, there are additional style numbers available which allow additional flexibility in planning. These style numbers have an FOE of June 4, 2012. All product shipped on or after July 23, 2012 will be built as enhanced Neighbor.

Thursday April 26th, Nurture had the opportunity to sponsor the most recent IIDA Healthcare Education Day, a series of webinars conducted by the IIDA and the Center for Health Design (Read about it here on the Nurture blog.)

The webinars were well-attended throughout the day, with an average of 300+ architects and designers listening to experts discuss topics such as the latest sustainability guidelines, the trend towards community based, retail-like healthcare facilities, and the tension between infection control and sustainability in patient environments.

If you missed the webinars, register here to have access to the archived presentations.