• Patti Howard, in white, discusses patient care with a physician while a nurse cares for the patient.
  • Collaboration on products like the Big Wheel stretcher make Stryker the preferred provider at the hospital.

Transforming the products that transform nursing.

Working on the front lines of emergency medicine, Patti Howard has seen every type of emergency nursing care. She’s also experienced firsthand how Stryker makes a difference in the care of her patients and in the lives of her staff. As operations manager for emergency and trauma services at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, what matters most in Patti’s world are time, efficiency, mobility, safety and patient comfort—priorities that she says make her relationship with Stryker extraordinary. From participating in our product development focus groups to challenging us to improve our existing products, Patti and other nurses around the world have helped shape the design, function and versatility of our stretchers and other patient handling equipment.

The result is faster and easier access to the patient and reduced physical strain on the caregiver—and increased loyalty to Stryker. Patti’s belief in Stryker has led the hospital’s emergency department to convert all of its stretchers to our products in recent years. “I need to make sure patients receive the care and comfort they need and that our staff has what they need to do that,” she says. “Stryker is genuinely interested in both, and that’s been the biggest strength of our relationship.”