Following an international RFP search, in July of 2021 VCU Health System chose Purple to implement a wayfinding solution on its growing downtown medical campus in Richmond, Virginia.
With this solution, patients and visitors can preview digital maps and directions online before they arrive and use interactive walking routes when on-site to ensure they get to where they need to be on time; using the safest and most efficient routes.
Purple are experts in healthcare wayfinding worldwide and have several of the country’s best hospitals as their customers and partners. The Purple wayfinding solution will first be available on the downtown campus for VCU Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
“Enhancing our patient and visitor experiences is foundational to our mission and vision,” said Marcos Irigaray, chief of communications and marketing for VCU Health System. “Improving wayfinding for patients, visitors and team members through the successful deployment of Purple’s technology is a partnership we look forward to achieving. We selected a tool that could support our current and future wayfinding needs as our downtown campus and footprint across the state continues to grow.”
VCU Health’s downtown medical campus will soon include a new 17-story Adult Outpatient Pavilion with a multitude of outpatient services easily accessible under one roof.
Given the importance of this wayfinding initiative, VCU Health System went through a thorough exploration of the market via an RFP process that lasted more than 6 months and included 11 technology vendors. Vendors were required to submit a bid, case study, technological approach, and narrative to express the possibilities each solution would provide. Purple was chosen due to its enhanced security standards, experience with similar organizations, commitment to partnering with clients, and ensuring the project’s success well beyond the implementation phase. Furthermore, Purple’s unique approach to wayfinding requires 85% less hardware infrastructure than similar systems.
“We’re really excited to be working with VCU Health, not only because they are such a prestigious organization, but because just like us they believe in providing the best service possible to all their constituents,” said Gavin Wheeldon, CEO at Purple.
The VCU Health brand represents the VCU health sciences academic programs, the VCU Massey Cancer Center, and the VCU Health System, which comprises VCU Medical Center (the only academic medical center in the region), Community Memorial Hospital, Tappahannock Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, and MCV Physicians.