Herman Miller Healthcare Navigates NeoCon Success

CHICAGO, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Herman Miller Healthcare, a division of Herman Miller, Inc. (Nasdaq: MLHR), led the way at NeoCon® World's Trade Fair 2010 – the premier exhibition for the commercial furnishings industry held annually at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago – earning a Best of NeoCon® Gold Award for its Compass™ System in the Healthcare Furnishings category.

Launched this week at NeoCon, Compass is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Herman Miller and Continuum, a global innovation and design consultancy headquartered in Boston. The modular furniture system revolutionizes how designers and end-users address the constant state of change in healthcare spaces, all while providing a consistently superior experience for patients, families and staff.

"We're honored to earn this award that reflects Herman Miller's ongoing commitment to innovation for the healthcare industry," said Herman Miller Healthcare President Beth Nickels. "Through products such as Compass, we are continually expanding our healthcare portfolio to create the solutions needed to meet our customers' varied and ever-changing needs."

The Compass System is the culmination of a more than two-year process gathering observations from more than 550 individuals – from nurse managers to hospital administrators – to identify the four primary needs of the dynamic healthcare environment. Offering a new approach to furnishing for healthcare interiors, Compass includes structural, surface and storage components to provide unexpected levels of flexibility while also reducing costs. The system was designed to not only meet but exceed the functional and aesthetic requirements of healthcare interiors. As a valuable and needed solution for a variety of healthcare spaces, especially acute care and outpatient facilities, it is an essential component to creating a welcoming aesthetic within a patient room.

The annual Best of NeoCon Awards for product is juried by interior design and real estate management professionals. Now in their 21st year, the awards are sponsored and organized by the International Interior Design Association, the International Facility Management Association, Contract magazine, the McMorrow Report and Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. Compass will be on display at the Herman Miller Showroom (#330) throughout the show.

About Herman Miller's Healthcare Businesses

Herman Miller Healthcare, Nemschoff and Brandrud deliver thoughtful applications in support of healthcare environments for the well-being and comfort of staff, patients, and their families. Through a network of clinical strategists, clinical designers, and sales professionals, the companies provide research-based, problem-solving solutions to improve working and healing environments. Herman Miller is a charter member of the Health Facility Institute; a sustaining member of the Coalition for Health Environments Research; and a Research Partner with the Center for Health Design.

www.hermanmiller.com/healthcare

About Continuum

Continuum is a global innovation and design consultancy with offices in Boston, Milan, Shanghai, Seoul, and Los Angeles. Continuum was founded in 1983 with the philosophy of applying user research to uncover opportunities for innovation and applying interdisciplinary collaboration in transforming such insights into compelling design solutions. Since its inception Continuum and Continuum Advanced Systems have been focused on merging humanistic values with leading edge healthcare technologies.

SOURCE Herman Miller Healthcare