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In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, material selection is about much more than aesthetics—it is about safety, durability, sustainability, and strategic foresight.
The July 2025 BIFMA Learning Series, hosted in collaboration with the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers (AAHID), brought together a powerhouse panel of experts to explore the critical role of material selection in healthcare environments. From infection control to sustainability, the discussion, led by Shelley deSilva, National Healthcare Sales Director with SitOnIt Seating, illuminated the complex interplay between design, performance, and public health.
“Most failures come down to two things,” said Barbara Dellinger, Principal of Dellinger Consulting, LLC, and retired Director of Design/Research at Adventist Healthcare. “Either the material was specified incorrectly for the environment, or it wasn’t cleaned and disinfected properly.”
Dellinger recounted a pivotal moment in 2020 when 13 chairs in a hospital had to be discarded due to fabric degradation because of excessive wiping with bleach wipes during Covid. This incident helped catalyze the formation of the Durable Coated Fabrics Task Group. Since then, the group has worked with the Chemical Fabrics and Film Association (CFFA) to establish a rigorous 16-test standard for healthcare-grade materials.
Unfortunately, this was the result of fabric failures after less than a year in a very large hospital. Image used with permission of Dellinger Consulting, LLC.
These “real world” tests, now part of the CFFA Healthcare 201 certification, evaluate if upholstery textiles can withstand the minimum of performance and durability for the harsh realities of healthcare environments that face heavy traffic, damaging environmental contaminates, and aggressive disinfectants.
BIFMA offers specifiers and buyers help with their material choices for furniture in healthcare environments. BIFMA’s long-standing Guideline has undergone a major update that includes more tools for assessing material selections based on the risk exposure of an environment and furniture design criteria. Release of the BIFMA G8.1 guideline, “Furniture Surfaces: Design and Durability for Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting,” is planned for fall 2025.
While cleanliness is paramount in healthcare, the methods used to achieve it can have unintended consequences. Shari Solomon, President of CleanHealth Environmental, LLC and an expert in infection prevention, highlighted a startling statistic: “if a patient is admitted to a room previously occupied by someone with a healthcare-associated infection, their risk of acquiring that infection increases by 120%." This underscores the importance of effective disinfection—but also the risks. “More is not always better,” Solomon warned. “Harsh chemicals can degrade surfaces, creating micro fissures that harbor pathogens.”
Degraded covering that can increase risk of infection. Image used with permission of Dellinger Consulting, LLC.
The panel emphasized the need for “safer choice” disinfectants—products that balance efficacy with reduced toxicity and material impact. A recent EPA-funded initiative led by Solomon and Jane Rohde, Principal and Founder of JSR Associates, is helping long-term care facilities adopt these safer alternatives, complete with training and policy development.
Ultraviolet-C (UVC) light has emerged as a powerful tool for disinfection, especially in high-risk areas like operating rooms. But as Linda Gabel, Senior Facilities Planner at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, explained, it comes with trade-offs.
“We were seeing walls turn yellow and materials degrade within months,” Gabel said. “One day of high-intensity UVC exposure is equivalent to a full summer of sunlight.”
Discoloration caused by UVC disinfecting light at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center after 3 months. Image used with the permission of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
The result? The early onset failure of finishes physically changes surfaces from non-porous to porous, which is an infection prevention issue in patient care spaces. To remove and replace these degraded finishes, healthcare facilities face costly renovations, and potential health risks from microplastic release. Gabel’s team is now exploring materials with higher UVC resistance and advocating for lifecycle cost analysis over first-cost decisions.
The panelists stressed that standard certifications are just the beginning. Gabel’s team conducted independent testing on healthcare fabrics, exposing them to common disinfectants and contaminants like sunscreen, lipstick, and hand sanitizer.
“Even certified fabrics can fail if they’re not tested against the specific conditions of your environment. You have to go beyond the minimum.” - Linda Gabel
One surprising finding: marine-grade vinyl, designed for outdoor use, outperformed many traditional healthcare fabrics in durability tests.
Can a material be both high-performing and sustainable? According to Rohde, the answer is yes—but only with a holistic, multi-attribute approach.
“You can’t just look at one factor. You have to consider infection control, indoor air quality, embodied carbon, and product lifecycle—all in the context of your operational needs.” - Jane Rohde
She advocated for early collaboration among designers, environmental services, and frontline care staff to ensure that materials meet both performance and sustainability goals. Mock-ups, real-world testing, and proactive planning are key.
Specify with Intent: Match materials to the actual use case, not just the aesthetic vision.
Test Beyond the Label: Conduct in-house testing with your facility’s cleaning agents and contaminants.
Plan for Premature Failure: If a surface is likely to degrade in five years, plan for replacement at the outset.
Collaborate Early: Engage infection prevention, environmental services, and care staff in material selection.
Prioritize Lifecycle Value: Choose materials based on total cost of ownership, not just upfront price.
As healthcare design continues to evolve, the insights from this webinar offer a roadmap for resilient, responsive, and responsible material choices. By aligning performance with sustainability and grounding decisions in real-world data, interior designers can lead the charge in creating safer healing environments. To help on that journey, these experts have provided a list of Resources.