Forest Hill Rehab & Skilled Nursing Center, Fort Kent, ME
nora Products Provide Important Benefits to Forest Hill Rehab & Skilled Nursing Center
Forest Hill is a rehab and skilled nursing facility located in Fort Kent, ME. A department of nearby Northern Maine Medical Center, the facility employs as many as 80 people providing an individually tailored program of care for each patient. Physical, occupational and speech therapy are available on-site six days per week for patients in need of rehabilitation.
Three years ago, new construction at Forest Hill added 10 patient rooms, a nurses’ station, dining room and bathrooms to the facility.
At the recommendation of architect John Michalowski, Jr., Forest Hill administrators elected to install nora flooring products throughout the addition. Michalowski’s previous experience with nora products included a recent installation at Northern Maine Medical Center.
More recently, Forest Hill renovated a portion of its original building, adding nora products in the hallways, dining room and main entrance to the facility. “The VCT flooring was cracked and needed to be replaced,” Forest Hill Administrator Lynn Beaulieu explained, “Having experienced the nora product in the new unit, we felt comfortable using it in our renovations.” In fact, so successful has the installation of noraplan stone and noraplan mega been, that Beaulieu will recommend that nora products be used as part of future renovation and new construction projects at the 34-year-old facility.
Recalling his original recommendation to use nora products as part of the new construction at Forest Hill, Michalowski said, “We wanted to move away from VCT to a more durable, but comfortable, floor covering. I was familiar with nora and recommended it, because it’s both durable and comfortable to walk on.”
According to Michalowski, the nursing staff immediately noticed a difference as they walked back and forth between patient rooms and nursing stations, feeling the new floor was more comfortable, especially at the end of long shifts typically spent on their feet.
Beaulieu agreed. “We were looking for a floor that was very durable and resilient to all the traffic in the facility, a flooring that would withstand all the equipment that rolls across the floors and/or items placed on the floor. The staff has reported that this flooring is better for them, less tiring on their feet and on their backs.”
Resilient nora floor coverings also offer slip resistance so important to facilities where patients are in rehab situations or unable to walk unassisted. In addition, the resiliency of the floor helps to cushion falls and mitigate their consequences in terms of serious injury.
Michalowski referenced additional benefits nora floors offer facilities like Forest Hill. “Everyone is thinking about environmental issues today. With the cleaning of nora floors, you don’t have to use harmful chemicals that can be released into the air. You eliminate the chemical smell. Additionally, maintenance-wise, the floor has definitely been easier for the housekeeping people at Forest Hill.”
Again, Beaulieu agreed with Michalowski’s assessment. “It was important for us to have a floor that required minimal maintenance in so far as shining and buffing. Minimal maintenance is important in terms of efficiency and time of the staff. That leads to cost savings. We absolutely see a difference in the number of hours we’re spending on maintenance since we installed the nora floors. We don’t have to wax or buff them and do so many of the other things we do with our VCT floors, and I’d venture to say we’re using less cleaning products.”
Like all nora products, the noraplan stone and noraplan mega floor coverings offer the added benefit of bacterial resistance important in any healthcare facility. In addition, the floors are resistant to stains caused by disinfectants, blood and urine.
In speaking of the nora products, Beaulieu was quick to point out the design features the floor covering offered. “We of course wanted something that would be aesthetically pleasing to the eye,” she said. “We found the nora product provided a lot of flexibility as far as design. We were able to create our own design in a couple areas. Our options really seemed unlimited – almost anything we wanted to do we could.”
Michalowski echoed Beaulieu’s sentiments with regard to the design options nora products make available to him. “As a designer using nora products, you have a great variety of colors and designs. You have the ability to meet the client’s different requirements, both in terms of performance and most definitely design.” For the Forest Hill projects, Michalowski incorporated a colored border along corridors and central designs where corridors come together, using six different colors from the nora spectrum of more than 275 color choices, pleased with the selection nora provided. The result is a floor that Beaulieu and the people at Forest Hill are proud to show off.
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Contact Information
nora systems, Inc.
9 Northeastern Blvd.
Salem, NH 03079
Toll-Free: 800-332-NORA
Tel: (603) 894-1021
Fax: (603) 894-6615
E-mail: info-us@nora.com
