In healthcare facilities, every second counts. Patients and providers expect elevators to bring them from point A to point B swiftly and safely.
Medical staff rely on fast and reliable elevators when transporting ill or injured patients. It’s vital to update the elevator equipment in your facilities before things can go wrong.
Here are 5 benefits of modernizing your healthcare elevators.
In a hospital or healthcare facility, it’s crucial to minimize wait times to keep providers and patients moving through the building smoothly. But when you take an elevator out of service for modernization, you increase the pressure on the remaining elevators. A destination dispatch system can help solve this problem.
A destination dispatch system, such as Schindler PORT, works best when there are more than three elevators. Passengers are directed to an elevator based on their desired destination, allowing the system to reduce the number of stops and get people to their floor faster.
You can install a destination dispatch system before you begin other elevator modernization efforts. Then, when you take one elevator out of service for upgrades, the others pick up the slack. Once your modernization is finished, you continue to see the benefits of improved efficiency and traffic flow.
In a healthcare setting, you need elevators you can easily manage, even during the busiest of times. A new controller gives you that flexibility, allowing you to include functions like "reservation" for cleaning and "special" and preferential control. "Code Blue" is an extremely useful function that should be included in all healthcare elevator systems. It overrides any existing calls, giving priority to emergency situations.
The latest controllers also monitor your equipment and detect even small drops in performance. This allows your elevator service provider to find potential problems before they cause a breakdown of your equipment.
Safety and comfort are two of the most important requirements of any elevator, but especially an elevator in a healthcare facility.
New landing doors help elevators meet the latest safety standards. Previously, single photocell sensors were commonly used to detect obstacles. These systems work, but they’re not very sensitive. Today, a light curtain is the norm. Sensors are placed around the door so that even the smallest obstacle can be detected.
For injured patients or those recovering from surgery, limiting unexpected movement is particularly important. New machines featuring Suspension Traction Media (STM) make the journey smoother. Meanwhile, upgraded systems offer passengers a quieter ride and improved stopping accuracy.
One of the biggest challenges in a hospital is minimizing the risk of patients developing secondary infections. Elevators are among the busiest areas in a hospital—places where pathogens can be transmitted between patients—so it’s extremely important to be able to clean them easily and quickly.
COVID-19 caused a leap forward in elevator sanitation technology. Solutions such as Schindler CleanMobility products help to minimize contact and increase social distancing. Sensor technology and QR codes can be used to call an elevator, so there’s no need to press buttons. These innovations were developed to address the concerns of passengers during the pandemic but, in the longer-term, have remained effective solutions for keeping elevators clean.
Stainless steel fixtures and panels make it simple to sanitize your elevator cars. You can also install bumper rails to protect elevators from damage caused by stretchers and wheelchairs accidentally hitting the walls. You can affix bumper rails at different heights and select from stainless steel, PVC, or wood, depending on your needs.
Digitally connected equipment can enhance performance. When your elevator is connected you can enjoy a data-based maintenance plan tailored to the needs of your equipment, passengers, and building.
New technology, like Schindler Ahead, allows you to continually monitor your elevators. Sensors installed in the elevator system find potential or real-time problems so your service provider can fix them quickly or, sometimes, before a breakdown even occurs.
If you’re planning to modernize the elevators in your healthcare facility, the right provider can design a plan to ensure your upgrades proceed smoothly. By making use of the latest technology, you can make sure your elevators perform their best for optimal safety and reliability.