Interior designer John DuBard, IIDA, with Parkhill, Smith & Cooper, Inc., first worked with the product in 2002 when a physician moving to the hospital requested nora floor covering for the operating room in which he would be working. “He was coming here from another facility that used nora products, and he was quite a fan,” explained DuBard. “He particularly liked the comfort underfoot and slip resistance as well as the fact that you don’t have to move heavy equipment in and out of the operating room every month so that wax can be applied.”

“The extra thickness of the three millimeter product really gives you peace of mind,” DuBard noted. “As Bobby says, it definitely holds up better to the abuse of all the heavy equipment that rolls across the floor in procedural areas like operating rooms. It also stands up to betadine, and is much easier to maintain than resilient floor coverings that require waxing, stripping and sealing.” For similar reasons, the same floor covering was installed in the surgery north expansion and surgical decontamination suite as well as the pediatric emergency trauma center.

The mega product also comes in an acoustic offering that perfectly met demands for quiet and comfort in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). “They considered comfort and stain resistance, but the noise level was everybody’s main concern as plans for the NICU were developed,” recalled Hitt. With a high footfall sound absorption of 20 decibels, noraplan mega acoustic contributes to the quiet environment so important to babies’ sensitive ears. “And, as mentioned with respect to the surgical suite and other areas, the floor covering is easy to clean,” said DuBard. “Because the no wax nora product does not require monthly waxing, stripping and sealing, it eliminates the harsh chemicals associated with those procedures for improved indoor air quality and limits the movement of patients and equipment to accommodate maintenance requirements.”