ECRI, a global, independent authority on healthcare technology and safety, celebrates the opening of its new state-of-the-art global headquarters and medical device evaluation laboratory on a 24-acre campus near Philadelphia.
“The opening marks an historic opportunity for the nation’s largest patient safety organization to fulfil its mission to advance effective, evidence-based health care globally,” according to a news release.
“The new building symbolizes the transformation that ECRI has been undergoing over the past few years,” says Marcus Schabacker, MD, Ph.D., president and CEO of ECRI.
The independent nonprofit organization, founded more than 50 years ago, has evolved the scope of its capabilities with data-rich, cloud-based patient safety and technology solutions, partnering with hospitals and health systems in every state in the U.S. With offices in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, ECRI works internationally with clients in more than 150 countries. In 2020, ECRI’s acquisition of the Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) created the largest health care quality and safety entity in the world, driving greater value to health care across all care settings, including community, specialty and hospital pharmacies.
“As we expanded our global footprint and forged new solutions for a rapidly changing health care market, we also reshaped our business structure to support a virtual hybrid workforce. For these reasons and more, we designed a global headquarters that reflects our core values and engages our diverse and talented employees in helping us achieve our strategic vision,” explained Schabacker.
The overarching goal of the headquarters transformation was envisioning a new workspace for a new virtual hybrid workforce for ECRI and its affiliate ISMP. The building pays tribute to the legacy the organization’s founder, Joel Nobel, MD, and his invention of the Max Cart, the first medical crash cart.
“The pandemic posed an incredible opportunity for ECRI to completely reimagine how to transform our existing space to meet the changing needs of the health care community. For us, creating collaboration spaces for our mainly virtual workforce was the unifying element and we accomplished this with a design centered on transparency, flexibility and smart technology,” says Pete Catalano, chief financial officer of ECRI, and executive project manager of the headquarters renovation.
ECRI’s new headquarters features an independent medical device evaluation laboratory, an environmental lab, and accident and forensic investigation lab, multi-use, high-tech meeting rooms, open collaboration areas and flexible workstations. The building’s third level, which has yet to be built out, is being envisioned as a hub for health care innovation, a place where local health care organizations with similar goals can collaborate on health care advancements.
Philadelphia-based Irwin & Leighton were the contractors on the building project that was designed by Meyer Architecture+Interiors. The building officially opened on April 19, 2022, with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony.
For more information about ECRI, visit www.ecri.org, contact clientservices@ecri.org, or call 610-825-6000.
