In the world of corporate wellness, there is nothing more important to everyone’s wellbeing than innovation. Without it, the health care sector would be lacking in technology, medical breakthroughs, scientific applications and basic improvements involving everyday products. With regard to the latter, the source or result of innovation is meaning; a small product or change can radically alter the way you deal with a common challenge, whether you’re a doctor, nurse, patient or consumers, although this simple change may be difficult to master at first. Still, these changes help to shape a culture of wellness, making things easier and more sensical than they once were.
Garett Fortune, Founder and President of OdorNo™, explains, ‘Indeed, my role as Founder of OdorNo™, which makes Odor-Barrier disposable bags to protect against the scents of daily life such as baby diapers, pet waste, industrial trash, incontinence products and other unpleasant smells, is the ultimate proof about the union between innovation and concrete, measurable results that make the regular routine of running a household, medical office or hospital more inviting…We, as a society, have a tendency to approach health care from the perspective of complexity – we search for the latest cancer treatment, the most sophisticated imaging equipment or the most advanced form of pharmacology – while overlooking the ordinary things that can immediately improve quality of life for patients, loved ones and medical personnel.’
While, as an innovative entrepreneur or business owner, you should fear delving into complex problems in order to find a solution, it’s important to bear in mind that you have multiple opportunities right here, right now, to deliver relief in some small way to those who need it. Fortune notes, ‘One of the fields OdorNo™ may explore involves the removal of medical waste, or the inclusion of our products in hospital rooms throughout the country. That single action can quickly better everything from facilities management – workers would no longer have to endure the harsh smells that are legion among all hospitals – and remake a standard room into a scentless, minus the flowers from friends and family, source of rest and recovery.’
Not only is this a fast and immediate change, if it works; it’s also identifiable to those who implement it. Yesterday there was a smell, and today there isn’t. Moreover, a change such as this addresses a direct challenge that physicians and nurses deal with on a daily basis; working through the awful smells that invade an operating room, hospice building, assisted living facility, trauma unit, burn repair centre or floor for intensive care. Fortune notes, ‘The greatest areas worthy of improvement typically involve the use of products that, with some adjustment, can deliver significant savings, convenience or peace of mind. The same theory is the inspiration for the “broken windows” principle of crime control – that the failure to address small things, like vandalism or the replacement of broken windows, invites bigger and more serious threats.’
Fortune points out, ‘If [the single change of removing hospital waste bins] can have such an influential outcome on the frequency with which patients maintain their health or get regular checkups, think of all the other improvements we can make – right now – that can reverberate throughout a company or medical organisation. My recommendation is, consequently, to create big results by making small (but revolutionary) changes. By transforming just one task – the depositing and removal of trash – we can see how we can improve results. Let us apply that principle to other fields worthy of innovation, so wellness can be a priority and reality for all.’