Kitchen & Bath Business - July/August 2018 - 55

Better Business

It Takes a Village
Creating interprofessional teams
i s t o d a y 's n e w d e s i g n s t a n d a r d
YOUR CLIENTS TRUST YOU TO MEET THEIR
EXPECTATIONS and needs throughout their

home project, and they assume you know where to
find the best possible products and workers.They
usually have no idea how many other professionals are involved in a typical project, but we know
it takes a whole team.
A team is a group of experts linked in a common
purpose, especially appropriate for conducting
complex tasks with many interdependent subtasks.
Teams generate synergy through a coordinated
effort that allows each member to maximize their
strengths and minimize their weaknesses.
We have always been familiar with most
tradespersons, but have you ever included a home
inspector, technology specialist or a medical expert? Your responsibility is to know which other
professionals are necessary and available to be
part of that team. And then you need to lead each
member of that team in recommending design
and product solutions that will make every home
more accessible, comfortable and safe for your clients - as well as their family and friends who visit.
In the past, we thought we had all the right
answers.We now know that our solutions, without
the benefit of interprofessional teams, have not
been the best they should have been. As projects
have become more complex and specialized, the
need for teams is critical for our clients'well-being
and our business success.

FROM A DESIGN PERSPECTIVE

Are interprofessional teams important in the design and construction community? According to Toni Sabatino, a CLIPP-certified designer and president of the NKBA Manhattan Chapter, they absolutely are.
"Being a member of a team where my function is to create aesthetically
pleasing solutions that enhance the clients' lifestyle and minimize any challenges is part of the process," she explained. "After meeting with the client
for a lifestyle and spatial analysis, I may realize the need for an integration
specialist for smart home solutions. If the client has an aging parent or specialneeds child in the home, design considerations for comfort and safety may be
required. In the case of an existing medical condition that creates constraints
and challenges, it seems only logical that an occupational or physical therapist
be involved so the complete environment is the safest possible."
Some team members come from niche specialty markets, such as lighting
and residential technology. Another unique and often very important team
member could be a professional childproofer.
"We are seeing more requests from design and construction teams to help
make homes safer for their clients' children," said Colleen Driscoll, executive director of the International Assn. for Child Safety. "There are so many
hazards in the home that it is difficult for someone who does not work in
child safety to know what should be done - and more importantly - done
properly. And there is always an issue of aesthetics; clients want their home
to look good and at the same time minimize potential for damage.This is just
part of the expertise that childproofers can bring to any project."
STARTING THE TEAM

FROM A MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE

Some projects will benefit from having a medical
expert on the team. According to Dr. Monique
Chabot, assistant professor of occupational therapy at Jefferson University, when a patient is about
to be released from a rehab facility, the home must
be appropriately accessible and safe prior to release.
"The occupational or physical therapist creates
an interprofessional team, including a designer and
construction professional,to evaluate the home,"she
added. "The medical professional leads the team
with their expertise in human needs and skill to
match people's abilities with environmental demands. The designer suggests style and color the
client will approve and value, and the construction
expert installs products properly and safely. With
human safety,there is only one chance to do it right."

BY LOUIE DELAWARE &
ERIK LISTOU - co-founders
of the Living In Place Institute,
LLC

Most kitchen and bath projects start with a design professional. As the
client-chosen team leader, you are responsible for which other specialists
are included. The first step on every project is to determine if the client - or
family member or friend who may visit - has any medical issues. If so, include
an appropriate medical specialist - often an occupational or physical therapist - to help you recommend the best solutions for your client. For specific
health issues, only a medical professional has the knowledge, experience,
legal authority and professional liability insurance to make specific recommendations. Above all, it is the moral responsibility for you, the team leader,
to include all the professionals necessary to help make decisions that affect
the ability of the home to allow your client to enter, move within and function
comfortably and safely.
Embrace the new business standard of interprofessional teams.With a team,
you make the best recommendations, minimize mistakes, move projects faster
and keep yourself out of trouble. Only with an interprofessional team will you
stay in business, continuing to help more clients live accessibly, comfortably
and safely in their home for as long as they want and deserve.

Kitchen & Bath Business - July/August 2018

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