Medical Recliners Help Healthcare Providers with New Care Act Requirements

Sometimes a chair is much more than a chair. Champion Manufacturing’s recliners have acquired added value for healthcare providers as they try to meet new standards of patient care created by the Affordable Care Act.

Champion is the country’s largest producer of recliners for dialysis treatment and now also finds itself in a critical role in helping healthcare providers meet new government regulations. “The ACA has created new standards that healthcare facilities must meet in reducing readmissions and improving overall patient satisfaction. Government reimbursements will actually depend on provider scores in these areas,” said Doug Keeslar, president of Champion.

“At the same time, the ACA is pushing hospitals and other care facilities to reduce costs. The upshot is that providers are looking more closely than ever at Value Based Purchasing from their suppliers. Of course, this is where we definitely believe our products have a distinct advantage, because basically our chairs have been meeting these standards and more for the last 20 years. ”

Chairs get attention in battling bacteria

Hospitals can be rife with bacteria that can cause debilitating infections, a major reasons patients are readmitted. And one of the places microbes most like to hide is in patient chairs. “Especially in a recliner, it’s easy for bacteria to take up residence in the various cracks and seams, not to mention when chairs may be exposed to blood or fluid spills during treatment,” said Tim Minzey, national sales manager. “Dialysis patients, especially, spend a lot of time in these chairs. Four hours is a typical treatment time.”

So recliners with such features as swing-away arms, turned in seams, removable seats and easily reachable and washable surfaces help facilitate the extent to which such chairs can be quickly and thoroughly disinfected between treatments.

Helping with patient satisfaction

Healthcare facilities are now also graded on patient satisfaction by the ACA requirements, leading to a new emphasis on patient comfort and control. For a four-hour dialysis treatment, comfort must be a major feature of the chair. This includes such features as swing-away arms for easy access and exit, as well as fold-out side tables for drinks and materials, heat and message elements, easy-to-operate, powered reclining positions, headrests, over-the-lap trays, and a host of other features that allow facilities to customize the chair for their patient’s comfort.

“That the patient can control many of these functions themselves also bodes well for improving patient satisfaction scores,” said Keeslar.

“In terms of the ACA, we are now finding we have to play a bit of an educational role with healthcare facility architects and designers, discussing how function is more critical than the appearance,” said Keeslar. “With tightening budgets, they also need equipment that’s going to retain value over the long-term.”

“So we’re glad that our experience puts us in a position where we can help meet such treatment and regulatory needs for both providers and their patients. For dialysis and other treatments, a highly functioning recliner goes a long way in making the treatment process a better experience.”

For more information, visit http://www.championchair.com.