On the floors of acute care hospitals across the country, where every movement counts and care is the heartbeat of the day, there exists a central hub that keeps everything (and everyone) moving efficiently: the nurses’ station. Far more than just an assemblage of casework and computer workstations, this space is designed and equipped for efficiency, collaboration, and uninterrupted workflow.
This post will look at some common nurses’ station essentials:
• Modular Casework
• Chairs
• Medical Carts
• Blanket & Fluid Warmers
• Vital Signs Monitors
• Portable Scanners and Barcode Readers
• Hand Sanitizer Dispensers
• Whiteboards
• Phones
Modular Casework: Designing Command Central
Modular casework is to hospital nursing stations like, well the heart is to the body. Typically centrally located on a hospital floor, nursing stations are ‘command central.’ People, information, medication, and supplies all cross paths in this space making the configuration of storage and workspace important. What better way to maximize space and organization than with modular casework that can be rearranged and reconfigured to meet evolving needs.
Here's why modular casework is the “go to” these days:
Customization: Modular casework allows nursing stations to be customized to meet specific needs. This includes configuring cabinets, drawers, shelves, and countertops according to the layout and functional requirements of the floor or healthcare facility.
Flexibility: Nursing stations must flexibly accommodate evolving tasks and new equipment. Modular casework offers design flexibility and the option to easily reconfigure or expand as needs change over time.
Organization: Modular casework helps organize medical supplies, digital workstations, and medical equipment. Different modules can be dedicated to storing medications, computer hardware, diagnostic tools, and personal protective equipment (PPE) for easy access by healthcare staff.
Durability and Cleanliness: Typically, modular casework is constructed of durable materials that are easy to clean and sanitize, a non-negotiable feature for maintaining a hygienic environment in healthcare settings.
Aesthetics: Beyond functionality, modular casework can contribute to the aesthetic appeal of nursing stations, integrating them seamlessly with the overall interior design of the healthcare facility.
Chairs: Where Necessity Meets Nursing
Next up are chairs – and not just any chairs. Selecting the best chairs for hospital nursing stations requires balancing comfort, ergonomics, durability, and infection control. Nurses spend long hours at their stations, so their seating must support productivity and well-being.
Look for these essential features:
Ergonomic Design: Chairs should offer lumbar support, adjustable height, and, ideally, adjustable armrests to accommodate different users and reduce strain during long shifts.
Durable, Cleanable Materials: Chairs should be upholstered with medical-grade, easy-to-clean vinyl or similar materials treated with antimicrobial properties and able to withstand the frequent cleaning that helps prevent the spread of infection.
Mobility: Swivel bases and smooth-rolling casters allow for quick, effortless movement and repositioning, essential features for busy hospital environments.
Medical Carts: Rolling with the Pros
Ever noticed the fleet of medical carts parked at nurses’ stations? These rolling assistants help take workflow efficiency to the next level by keeping essentials organized, accessible, secure, and most of all mobile. Carts might not wear scrubs or stethoscopes, but they are part of the team, and each has a unique purpose.
Here is what we are talking about:
Medication Carts: Often equipped with locking systems that require more authentication than a NASA launch and meticulously organized, color-coded, labeled, and stocked drawers, these carts are the epitome of nurses’ station staples.
Crash Carts: With nurses’ stations typically centrally located and near patient rooms it just makes sense to store emergency crash carts at the center of nursing care. Also meticulously organized, these carts are stocked with emergency equipment, medications, and consumable supplies, all ready for immediate use.
Would Care Cart: These carts organize essential supplies needed for treating and managing wounds - dressings, antiseptics, gloves, and other sterile materials. By storing these carts at the center of clinical activity, the nursing station, healthcare teams can respond to patients’ needs efficiently and maintain better control over inventory.
Blanket & Fluid Warmers: Hospital Hug Machines
Often tucked away in a quiet corner of nurses’ stations is equipment that brings the warm and fuzzy to modern medicine: the blanket warmer and the fluid warmer.
Ask any patient and they will tell you: blanket and fluid warmers are the best.
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Let’s talk about the blanket warmer - basically a spa day in a cabinet. Sleek, unassuming, and always filled with promise, this unassuming box keeps stacks of blankets warm and ready for action. Whether a patient is shivering post-surgery, coming in from the ambulance bay, or just in need of comfort, these heated hugs are always on standby.
Next up: the fluid warmer - a little less glamorous, but no less essential. Ever had an IV of ice-cold saline? Yep… not a good feeling. That is where the fluid warmer comes in to warm up IV fluids, blood products, and other infusions to body-friendly temperatures before they hit the vein highway.
Not only does this make the experience more comfortable (because, hello, who wants to be cold on the inside?), it also helps with patient safety. Warm fluids can improve circulation, prevent hypothermia during surgeries, and make the entire process feel a little less, well, clinical.
While the warm-and-fuzzy feeling is definitely a bonus, there is real science behind the need for warming equipment.
Warm blankets help reduce anxiety, promote relaxation, and can even help stabilize vital signs.Warm fluids help regulate core temperature, which is especially important for surgical, trauma, or pediatric patients. They also reduce the shock factor of receiving fluids when your body is already under stress.
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Vital Signs Monitors: Snitches of the Body
If your body had a group chat, the vital signs monitor would be the one spilling all the tea. Heart rate? Temperature? Blood pressure? Oxygen levels? It is all there. Nurses do not have time to guess if someone is okay, so they rely on these devices to deliver real-time updates faster than a social media trend. In the nurses’ station vital signs monitors create a central hub for viewing patient data, facilitating the early detection of unexpected changes, and sounding the proverbial alarm for intervention.
Look for these key features:
Data Storage and Retrieval: Vital signs monitors should be able to store and retrieve vital signs data for future analysis and trend identification.
Trend Analysis: The ability to display trends in vital signs over time helps nurses assess a patient's overall condition and identify potential problems early.
Connectivity and Integration: Connectivity and integration into hospital electronic medical record (EMR) systems are essential. With EMRs nurses can access patient data from a central location and share information with other healthcare professionals.
User-Friendly Interface: Monitors should have a clear and intuitive interface that is easy for nurses to use, even in high-stress situations.
Alarm Systems: Adjustable alarm systems that alert nurses when a patient's vital signs fall outside of pre-set parameters are a must.
Maintenance and Reliability: Vital signs monitors should be easy to clean, maintain, and calibrate to ensure accuracy and reliability.
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Portable Scanners & Barcode Readers: Safety Sidekicks
Barcode scanners are used to help ensure patient safety while at the same time helping to improve workflow efficiency. It is a small device with a big mission: preventing errors – from medication to specimen tracking - so patients receive the right care every time.
Other uses for barcode scanners include:
Inventory Management: Barcode scanning helps track and manage consumable supplies, so inventory remains at optimal levels and waste is minimized.
Medical Device Tracking: Barcode scanners help keep track of medical equipment, IV poles for example, to reduce the time wasted by healthcare staff looking for equipment.
Hand Sanitizer Dispensers: A Hands-On Experience
Is it even a hospital if hand sanitizer dispenser is not found every five feet? Keeping hands clean is literally part of the life-saving process, and these handy (pun intended) dispensers help stop the spread of germs faster than you can say "did you wash your hands?"
Hand sanitizers commonly found at nurses’ stations are designed for easy access and convenience. They may be:
• Tabletop or Wall-Mounted
• Free-Standing
• Touch-Free
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Whiteboards: OK’d By HIPPA
Even with the rise of digital options, whiteboards are still commonly found in nursing stations. Traditional whiteboards continue to be a valuable tool for communication, patient care, and team coordination. The use of these boards at nursing stations is allowed under HIPPA regulations as it is considered “incidental use and disclosure” when reasonable safeguards are taken to protect patient information.
Phones: Communication Essentials
And then there are phones. They connect caregivers to other caregivers, nurses to families, and doctors to decisions. The communication landscape in hospitals is evolving, with many hospitals adopting smartphones and mobile devices to improve efficiency and communication.
Here is a closer look:
Hospital-owned devices: Many hospitals provide nurses with dedicated devices (often ruggedized iPhones) for work-related communication and documentation. These devices are picked up and returned at the beginning and end of shifts, ensuring that patient data remains within the hospital network, according to one source.
Personal phone use: Some hospitals allow nurses to use their personal phones for work-related communication, such as texting colleagues or accessing reference materials. However, this practice often comes with restrictions, such as a ban on using personal phones in patient care areas.
Dedicated computers: Dedicated computers in patient rooms or workstations-on-wheels facilitate in the moment documentation and the communication of important patient information.
Pagers and voice-over-IP: While smartphones are increasingly common, there are some hospitals who continue to rely on pagers and voice-over-IP (VoIP) systems for communication between nurses and doctors.
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There you have it - a peek at healthcare equipment that collectively makes nurses stations the efficient hubs of activity and care that they are. Together, this medical equipment forms more than just a workspace - it creates an ecosystem of care. Thoughtfully designed layouts minimize footsteps and maximize time at the bedside. Bright colors and natural light soften the clinical edges to create an environment where compassion can flourish in tandem with efficiency.
So, next time you walk past a nurses’ station, take a moment to appreciate the harmony of equipment within the space. It is not just a station; it is the heartbeat - a testament to the efforts of those who make healthcare not just a profession, but a calling.
Partner with CME to Equip Nurses Stations
As the United States’ largest specialty distributor solely focused on equipment used in healthcare, we have built long term relationships with industry leading manufacturers.
Our expert account managers will work with you and the manufacturers’ representatives to help you equip nurses stations with healthcare equipment designed to ensure safety, workflow efficiency, and raise the bar on the standard of care.
Complementing CME’s expert focus on equipment used in healthcare are design and layout, project management, direct-to-site delivery, and biomedical services. We are the only medical equipment distributor nationwide, able to say we are truly a one-stop shop.
Direct-To-Site Logistics and Delivery Services
In addition to delivering healthcare equipment fully assembled when it is convenient for staff, our in-house Direct-to-Site services teams will deliver healthcare equipment to the service location in the facility and install equipment, like wall-mounted diagnostic systems, they are ready for immediate use.
Biomedical Services
Our in-house Biomedical Equipment Technicians (BMETs) can support facility biomed teams by performing scheduled annual preventive maintenance on critical equipment such as vital signs monitors, AEDs, defibrillators, infusion pumps, suction units, ventilators, and beds.
Click CHAT to start the conversation about preventive maintenance contracts
Find your account manager and learn how CME can help you equip your nurses’ stations with the healthcare equipment you need and keep you in budget.
About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, layout and design, turnkey logistics, delivery, installation, and biomedical services. We represent 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers. With offices and warehousing coast to coast, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.
