ECRI, a global, independent authority on healthcare technology and safety, has opened a new state-of-the-art global headquarters and medical device evaluation laboratory on a 24-acre campus near Philadelphia.
The opening of ECRI’s global headquarters marks an opportunity for the large patient safety organization to fulfill its mission to advance effective, evidence-based healthcare globally.
“The new building symbolizes the transformation that ECRI has been undergoing over the past few years,” says Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, 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 acquired of the Institute of Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), driving improved value to healthcare across all care settings, including community, specialty, and hospital pharmacies, ECRI says.
“As we expanded our global footprint and forged new solutions for a rapidly changing healthcare 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,” says 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 pandemic posed an incredible opportunity for ECRI to completely reimagine how to transform our existing space to meet the changing needs of the healthcare 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 healthcare innovation, a place where local healthcare organizations with similar goals can collaborate on healthcare advancements.
The building officially opened on April 19, 2022, with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony.
