Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City recently ordered 20 Empath for their pre- and post-surgical orthopedic unit of patient care. This is the first investment into Empath by Lenox Hill Hospital, which was recently acquired by the North Shore-LIJ Hospital System. Lenox Hill Hospital, a 652-bed acute-care hospital located on Manhattan's Upper East Side, has earned a national reputation for outstanding patient care and innovative medical and surgical treatments, including their centers of excellence in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, orthopedics, sports medicine, and head/neck surgery. The majority of their patients reside in the greater New York metropolitan area, where the choices for medical care facilities are numerous.

This win hinged primarily on a few specific needs of the nursing staff at Lenox Hill. They specifically needed a chair with no impediments to access for their orthopedic patients, and the flip-down arms on Empath met this need. The firm-sit comfort of the chair was essential, as was the ability of the chair to recline to
infinite positions, which far out-shined many of the three-position-only recliners available today. 
 

Getting patients into and out of a comfortable recovery tool was a big challenge in the already demanding jobs of the nurses on the orthopedic floor. Transporting patients from the surgical suite around the unit and eventually to the front door was also a challenge. The nurses and Operations Team saw these issues easily resolve once they witnessed a demonstration of Empath. Its tight-turn radius, compact frame, comfortable sit, secure push bar and footrest, and flip-down arms were all features they could tell were designed with their safety and the patient's in mind. Also considered and demonstrated at Lenox Hill were the Nemschoff Serenity and the Krug Jordan model recliners.
 

The overall ease of use of Empath was a key driver in winning the enthusiastic and immediate support of the nursing staff. "Nursing support for Empath, as well as the support of their Director of Operations, was a vital piece of the quick purchasing decision. Getting the product in front of the end-users, winning them over, and then having them advocate on our behalf was a huge part of our success at Lenox Hill," said Tracy Nichols, Area Healthcare Manager for Nurture in New York. "It was also advantageous to have the competitive recliners on-site for a side-by-side, immediate comparison."