Tarkett has announced collaborative partnerships with four healthcare organizations.
Tarkett's partnerships with NXT Health, Planetree, Practice Greenhealth, and The Center for Health Design (CHD) are integral elements of the Tarkett North America Healthcare Program.
"Collaborative partnerships are a crucial part of the foundation of our healthcare program. These new alliances enable us to have a more thorough understanding of all the processes and considerations in the healthcare built environment," said Cynthia Hubbell, director of healthcare development for Tarkett. "Through these relationships we have access to the innovations, trends and thought leaders in healthcare, which helps us deliver floor system solutions that meet the patient-centered needs of today's healthcare industry."
According to Hubbell, partners were chosen to provide a well-rounded methodology to the topics and trends that are shaping the healthcare industry today. This includes fostering and promoting Generative Spaces – a place where the experience of the participants is one that both fulfills the functional requirements of the space and also materially improves the health, and/or quality of life for those that live, work, play and heal in that space.
A primary goal of the North America Healthcare Program is to establish flooring as an active part of the healing environment, enabling Generative Space through safety, quiet, comfort and other contributing factors. To help accomplish that objective, Tarkett has established collaborative partnerships with the following healthcare organizations:
NXT Health – The mission of NXT Health is to sponsor collaborative design innovation in order to enhance the healthcare experience and improve the delivery of care. This is demonstrated in the NXT Patient Room 2020 in New York City. Tarkett has an exclusive agreement with NXT Health as one of four global founding partners that supports the efforts of the organization to solve the complex issues within healthcare (others include DuPont, Osram-Sylvania and Skanska). Tarkett will be showcasing its advanced flooring in the NXT Patient Room 2020 and will also be collaborating on design and research initiatives.
Planetree – The global leader advancing patient-centered care solutions, Planetree has been partnering with health care organizations for nearly 40 years to personalize, humanize, and demystify the healthcare experience by putting the needs of individuals first. To achieve this aim, Planetree guides organizations through a structured process that enables and inspires caregivers to transform the health care experience they provide. With its model of patient- and resident-centered care being implemented in a diverse range of hospitals, continuing care communities, outpatient clinics, and consumer health libraries across the world, Planetree is demonstrating that patient- and resident-centered care is not only an empowering philosophy, but also a viable, vital, and cost-effective model of care. Tarkett has formed an exclusive, collaborative agreement with Planetree to determine best-use flooring applications for healthcare environments.
Practice Greenhealth – A nonprofit membership organization, Practice Greenhealth was founded on the principles of positive environmental stewardship - and best practices by organizations in the healthcare community. Tarkett is the first and only flooring manufacturer to become a member of Practice Greenhealth. Practice Greenhealth is the nation's leading healthcare membership community that empowers its members to increase their efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care through tools, best practices and knowledge. To learn more about Practice Greenhealth, visit www.practicegreenhealth.org.
The Center for Health Design (CHD) – is a nonprofit organization that engages and supports professionals and organizations in the healthcare and design industry to improve the quality of healthcare facilities and create new environments for healthy aging. CHD's mission is to advance best practices in healthcare facility planning, design and construction, to optimize the healthcare experience and contribute to superior patient, staff and performance outcomes.
Throughout 2014, Tarkett will be working with CHD's research collaborative, known as "The Pebble Project" on best practices and applications in healthcare flooring.
There are six core values in the comprehensive Tarkett Healthcare Program, which include patient-centered care, innovation, research and development, sustainability, life safety, and addressing the needs of group purchasing organizations (GPOs). To learn more about how Tarkett's North American commercial line of flooring products may be applied to the healthcare industry, visit www.tarkettna.com.
