One advantage of a company like Steelcase taking a foray into healthcare is that they’re able to parlay the years of experience creating functional office space into meeting the very same objectives in a healthcare environment. Steelcase subsidiary Nurture has taken a giant step forward in that regard with the Montage Nurse’s Station. Just as the name suggests, this modular approach to caregivers’ work stations is highly flexible and eminently adaptable.

Montage Nurses’ Station Step-In-Zone. Manufactured by Nurture.

Montage Embraces the Realties of Healthcare Environments

Just as today’s office spaces require tremendous durability within the context of changing configurations for ever-fluctuating demands, so too do hospitals and doctor’s offices require a variety of spaces in which to work.

Accordingly, Montage is the product of three insights into what kinds of spaces nurses needed in order to be productive and efficient: “1. Curb-side, for impromptu meetings; 2. Step-in, for more involved work such as writing a chart or taking dictation; And 3. Immersion, for informational meetings that may require access to a computer, white board or other technology.”

Montage is a stackable frame-and-tile system that provides unparalleled aesthetic variety while quickly adapting to these changing needs. Just like the companion Montage line for office, the Montage Nurses Station features shared standing-height work zones, slim storage post and beam style dividing “fences” (to join proximal workstations without filling space beneath the floor and the furniture); varying screen heights to create out-in-the-open or private spaces; and clear framless glass to facilitate collaboration while still giving a sense of defined personal space.

All of these different incarnations make Montage an ideal choice for the fast-paced, perpetually changeable healthcare environment. Montage features multiple screen/window and worktop options, including platinum panel trim, Designtex white panel tiles, and warm oak lateral storage.

About the Manufacturer: Quite wisely, Nurture takes the long view of healthcare: “Think back 30 years. Many of the healthcare facilities in this country were built even longer ago, and many of these facilities haven’t changed. So here we stand, once again trying to predict a future of healthcare 30 years from now. Not only do we need to predict this uncharted territory, we need to plan for it.” While Nurture concedes that no one can predict the future, they know it will demand a new brand of healthcare environment—one that’s flexible, adaptable to patient and caregiver needs, endlessly-reconfigurable, and exceptionally durable. Nurture’s “big picture” thus focuses on enhancing patient comfort while increasing the efficiency of caregivers, a formidable and constantly variable challenge to be sure, but—if the Montage line of modular Nurses’ Stations is any indication—one that Nurture is well-equipped to meet.