Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo RockSmart, the new contemporary rocking chair by Norix Furniture, once again has been recognized by the healthcare community for its innovative design that provides a solution for the unique spaces that are behavioral and general healthcare facilities. At a luncheon today in Orlando during its annual gathering, the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo (HFSE) awarded RockSmart both the Most Innovative and Architect’s Choice Product Award.

According to HFSE, the awards recognize innovative new products that contribute to the enrichment of a healing environment through their unique design and operational support.

“We’re thrilled and truly appreciate the recognition from Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo,” Brad Karl, Norix Director of Innovation, said. “We knew we had something special with this product, but it makes it even more extraordinary when someone else sees the uniqueness as well.”

Earlier this year, RockSmart also was named the gold medal winner of the Healthcare Design Magazine Product Innovation Awards. This competition included a broad range of entries from a variety of categories such as technology/communications, appliances, medical supplies, lighting and furniture.

According to the news outlet, “A 16-member jury of industry leaders, including architects, designers, consultants, and providers, reviewed the submissions and narrowed the list down to the most innovative.”

Behind the Design

RockSmart is a contemporary rocking chair designed from the ground up for soothing comfort, exceptional durability and aesthetic appeal. The chair’s signature one-piece shape is sculpted from rotationally molded polyethylene for a calming, safe and comfortable rock. Its generous arc provides a relaxing and safe rocking action while securely affixed nylon runners protect floors. It’s also equipped with a rear bumper that indicates the limits of safe rocking.

It was designed to provide a specific solution for the unique healthcare segments that are behavioral healthcare facilities. Patients in these environments can sometimes become unstable and act out in unpredictable and even harmful ways. RockSmart began with the insight that BHC environments do not always have the resources to meet the diverse and dynamic needs of all patients at once.

Norix, therefore, envisioned a self-soothing solution mindfully designed for these exceptional conditions. The meditative quality of gentle rocking is innate to the human experience. So is the need for safety. RockSmart is designed with soft design lines that avoid hard edges. There are no vulnerable moving parts and is specifically built for extreme durability to protect patients and staff from the hazards created by product breakdown. With this product, Norix set out to deliver a contemporary rocking chair, with visual appeal and safety features, that helped create a calming experience for BHC patients.

“We believe that all people have the right to be safe and live in spaces that are humanized,” Karl said. “With RockSmart, we have delivered an aesthetically pleasing, highly durable product that gives healthcare facilities peace of mind.”

For more information on the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo, click here. Or go to our website to learn more about our behavioral healthcare seating options.