December 13, 2018
The Scoop

Survey Says. . .
It's that time of year again when we take stock of the last 12 months and start to define our focus going forward into the new year. We love hearing directly from our community what issues and challenges you are facing. One way we get to hear from you is our “What Keeps You Up at Night” voting board in our expo hall booth at Healthcare Design Expo & Conference. This year we had over 200 people vote on their top three concerns from a list of 25 industry challenges.
The top three concerns for those who identified as being architects or designers were as follows:
- Design – Experience/Empathy
- Infection Control
- Tied for third was Mental Illness and Design – Human Factors
The top three concerns for those who identified as part of a healthcare organization:
- Tied for first was Design – Human Factors and Design – Experience/Empathy
- Tied for second was Behavioral Health Spectrum and Infection Control
- Three-way tied for third was Post Occupancy Evaluation, Teamwork, and Violence
The top three concerns for those who identified as vendors/solution providers:
- Tied for first place was Mental Illness and Infection Control
- Care for Elderly
- Design – Experience/Empathy
As you can see, there is a lot of crossover between the different viewpoints in our community. This poll, while not scientific, allows us to see where challenges and concerns lie and provides us with a good idea of where we can focus our resources and tools in the coming year.
Were you not able to vote in this informal poll? Would you like to let us know “What Keeps You Up at Night”? You can send us your thoughts by clicking here.
In planning of the next 25 years, we are excited by the many opportunities before us and the ability to continue to drive and shape the ways healthcare facilities and environments deliver care to patients and improve the ability of those working in them to provide care. The participation and dedication of our supporters has allowed The Center for Health Design to attain the goals it originally set for itself 25 years ago. As we look to the future, The Center will strive to continue to be the leading voice and resource for professionals focusing their efforts on developing the best, most effective healthcare environments.
As we plan for the continued growth and expansion of our organization, we will again look to those who recognize the value The Center provides to our field, to those who work in the healthcare field, and especially to those patients who benefit from improved outcomes. I thank you for your past support and invite you to join me in this next phase of our evolution because as we all know, design has the power to impact
and influence many things... Design Can.
Wishing you all the happiest of holiday seasons, good health and great adventures in 2019.
Be well,

Debra Levin, Hon. FASID, EDAC
President and CEO
Industry News Briefs
How Design Can Impact Health Outcomes and
Serve the Whole Patient
Many have begun asking why we only consider health and wellbeing when someone is sick—rather than preventing symptoms before they turn into chronic problems. Wellness can be approached from a number of angles, from strategic facility planning and architectural medical planning to interior design and nursing operations. Further, exploring the joint influence of holistic health design and design centered on our love for nature can help those who design healthcare facilities better serve the whole person.
Recognizing and reducing stressors through savvy design
In a healthcare setting, a patient is exposed to environmental and social stressors. These stressors can affect heart rate and blood pressure—two key health indicators that clinicians consistently monitor. However, stressors extend beyond the patient, and healthcare interior designers work to reduce pain points within a healthcare environment for caregivers and families alike.
D CEO Healthcare, more . . .
Driving Change
Since The Center for Health Design’s founding in 1993, we’ve spent a good amount of time monitoring the industry and looking for patterns and trends. Through this exercise, we begin to recognize key drivers that are or will soon be impacting our industry. As we reflect on our work over the past 25 years, there are four issues that stand out.
1. Move toward measurement. Roger Ulrich’s 1984 study “View Through a Window” got the attention of both the industry as well as the mainstream press. People began to understand that the built environment, in this case patient views, impacted health outcomes. In 1985, Press Ganey and Picker Institute offered the industry measurement tools to start quantifying the impact of the built environment. Then in 1986, the book “Design that Cares” by Janet R. Carpman and Myron A. Grant made the case for why researchers should be part of a design team from the start, foreshadowing the evidence-based design
process that’s commonplace today.
Healthcare Design, more. . .
Healthcare Interior Design 2.0
Healthcare Interior Design 2.0 is the podcast that explores the changing face of healthcare design through intimate conversations with leading creatives in the field. Host Cheryl Janis and her guests explore the heartwarming human stories of how design can provide hope and healing for patients and their families, growing hospitality-influenced design trends, consumer desires, new support care models, the latest technology and the big ideas that are changing the way hospitals, senior living communities and healthcare environments are designed. You can listen to the latest podcast with nationally known physician and PBS host Dr.
Richard Jackson of the Designing Healthy Communities Series, here.
Upcoming podcasts include:
- Joanna Frank – Center for Active Design
- Rebecca Brennan – former President AAHID
- Tiana Lemons – Orcutt Winslow
- Jocelyn Stroupe – Cannon Design
Learn About the FGI 2018 Guidelines in New Webinar Series
The Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) has produced a series of 10 webinars that reviews in-depth the major changes and updates in the 2018 Guidelines documents. Offered exclusively through MADCAD, this series provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the Guidelines directly from members of the Health Guidelines Revision Committee. Webinars are priced at $96 each for those seeking continuing education credit and $48 for all others. Individuals and organizations
can subscribe to a single webinar or purchase a bundled package to take advantage of discounts. For detailed information about each webinar, visit the FGI website.
|