Since our founding in 1993, the 501(c)(3) non-profit Center for Health Design has been the preeminent professional organization in the healthcare design industry advancing the use of an evidence-based design process to improve health, safety and business outcomes.
Through research, education and community-building, The Center engages with a global network of 30,000+/- healthcare providers, facilities professionals, architects, designers, product manufacturers, consultants, educators, students, those with lived experience, and other related professionals and industry organizations.
Our webinars, workshops, journal clubs, conference tracks, publications and other programs and events bring together as presenters, participants and partners, veteran experts and up-and-coming innovators from leading healthcare, design and product organizations.
The Pebble Project, EDAC (Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification) program, Affiliate program, Touchstone Awards, HERD journal, Healthcare Environment Awards, Changemaker Award, Joseph G. Sprague New Investigator Award, and the many thousands of healthcare design tools and resources available on The Center’s website, stand as collective evidence of The Center’s enduring commitment, relevance and impact.
Today, The Center is re-asserting its role as a community builder by focusing our experience, time and resources on expanding and enhancing engagement between the healthcare design and healthcare provider communities. Shared learning, problem solving, innovation development and outcomes data are key to creating powerful designer-provider networks of change to achieve next-generation advances in care.
Download our Resource Guide to learn more about all the resources and services we provide.
The Center helped create the industry’s first and then largest conferences and publications including the Healthcare Symposium, Healthcare Design (conference and magazine), Environments for Aging (conference and magazine), and in 2024 became the Strategic Educational Collaborator for ASHE (American Society for Health Care Engineering) and the PDC Summit, producing a 24-session track – Research, Design and Outcomes – for the 2025 Summit and beyond.
OUR VISION
Built environments that optimize health.
OUR MISSION
Maximizing health through informed design.
OUR VALUES
Leadership
Challenge the status quo with a bold vision, solid evidence, a sound plan and extraordinary outcomes.
Collaboration
Share information, passion and efforts to yield profound results.
Impact
Demonstrate how design can unleash unlimited potential to improve people’s lives where they live, work, play and heal.
HOW WE DRIVE CHANGE
Research
Identifying the evidence and impact that facility design makes for patients, staff, families, and the bottom line.
Education
Promoting the application of design to improve healthcare performance, patient satisfaction, staff productivity, and safety.
Community-Building
Bringing together individuals and groups to share, learn, and advocate for ideas and practices that advance the impact of healthcare design.
JOIN US
There are many ways to engage with The Center to learn about the use and benefits of evidence-based design, advance your ability to apply the EBD process to your projects, meet and collaborate with other like-minded colleagues, or gain visibility and credibility for you, your firm, your projects or your products. Here are a couple of good places to start:
Become an Affiliate Member
Stay current with healthcare design research, strategies, best practices, case studies, resources and tools. LEARN MORE
Get EDAC Certified
Demonstrate your understanding of how to apply an evidence-based design process to improve outcomes. LEARN MORE
Share Your Knowledge
Be a speaker, panelist or contributor to our webinars, workshops, conference tracks and other educational programs. LEARN MORE
Partner with The Center
Align your organization with The Center’s mission, reputation and accomplishments as a Sponsor Partner for Center programs and events. LEARN MORE