EDAC

Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification

What is EDAC?

The role of EDAC is to educate and assess individuals on their understanding of how to base design decisions on available, credible evidence.  The 2006 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities include a new section that defines the environment of care components. EDAC accredited professionals will be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of these components and use an evidence-based design process to meet and/or exceed the recommended minimum requirements. 

The goal of the program is not to test people on their knowledge of current available evidence, but rather to test them on the proper process to identify, hypothesize, implement, gather, and report the data associated with their project.  Once an individual is EDAC accredited, he or she will have an ethical obligation to employ an evidence-based design process in his or her work.  Read a detailed description of EDAC.

Mission Statement:

The mission of EDAC is to educate and accredit individuals, certify buildings, and create an EDAC community that increases the practice of evidence-based design in healthcare facilities, leading to environments that truly support the health of all who utilize them.

Vision Statement:

All healthcare buildings are EDAC certified and all individuals involved in the design process are EDAC accredited, resulting in substantive improvements in the healthcare industry.

Hospitals are safer because the built environment supports, rather than hinders, the work of staff.  The work environment is both purposefully relaxing and designed for the needs of the staff members, allowing them more time to focus on providing care to their patients.

Patients are confident they are receiving medical care in a safe facility.  They are treated in a peaceful, protected, and comfortable environment in which there are no stressful distractions.  The families of the patients are provided with the amenities they need to support those receiving care.

Architects, facility planners, designers, and hospital executives make design decisions based on research and utilize researches to evaluate their own facilities, ultimately resulting in contributions to the body of knowledge. 

All users of medical facilities feel that their needs are addressed through the built environment.

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