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| The Center for Health Design | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Center for Health Design |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Focus | Healthcare design, evidence-based design |
The Center for Health Design is a nonprofit organization focused on improving healthcare environments through evidence-based design, research, education, and advocacy. It serves as a hub connecting healthcare providers, architects, interior designers, researchers, policymakers, and manufacturers to translate empirical findings into design practice. The organization has influenced hospital planning, patient safety initiatives, and facility operations in the United States and internationally.
The organization was founded in 1993 during a period of renewed attention to patient safety and facility planning informed by studies such as the To Err Is Human era discussions and initiatives from institutions like the Institute of Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Early collaborations included partnerships with academic centers such as the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as well as practice-oriented groups like the American Institute of Architects and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering. During the 1990s and 2000s it aligned with patient safety agendas exemplified by the World Health Organization campaigns and initiatives championed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Major milestones included development of the Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification frameworks and convening conferences that attracted attendees from institutions such as Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The organization's mission emphasizes the use of design to improve outcomes in healthcare settings, promoting collaboration among stakeholders such as the American Hospital Association, the International WELL Building Institute, and the National Institutes of Health. Its activities span convening annual symposiums, producing guidance for facility planning used by systems like Kaiser Permanente and Partners HealthCare (now Mass General Brigham), and advocating for standards that intersect with entities such as the Joint Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It advances design practices through partnerships with design firms including Perkins+Will, HKS, Inc., and Gresham Smith while engaging manufacturer partners like GE Healthcare and Philips.
Research initiatives emphasize empirical evaluation of environmental variables—lighting, acoustics, wayfinding, and materials—on outcomes measured in clinical settings overseen by organizations such as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration. The organization has published white papers, case studies, and peer-reviewed articles in venues associated with Journal of the American Medical Association readership and collaborated with researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Columbia University. Notable publications include compilations of evidence on healing gardens, noise reduction, and infection control informed by studies from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and trials reported in The Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine contexts. The organization also disseminates practical toolkits used by facility managers at institutions like Veterans Health Administration hospitals.
Signature programs include educational offerings, certification tracks, and benchmarking services that intersect with credentialing bodies such as LEED programs from the U.S. Green Building Council and WELL certifications from the International WELL Building Institute. The Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification (EDAC) credential is a focal point for practitioners allied with professional societies like the American Society of Interior Designers and Royal Institute of British Architects. Workshops and training have been delivered in collaboration with academic partners including Cornell University, Drexel University, and University of Minnesota School of Architecture as well as with corporate partners like Siemens Healthineers.
The organization’s influence is evident in project briefs and standards adopted by major healthcare systems including Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Mass General Brigham, and international sites such as St. Thomas' Hospital in the United Kingdom and academic medical centers affiliated with University of Toronto. Its evidence synthesis helped inform policies promoted by the World Health Organization and recommendations made to regulatory bodies like the Joint Commission and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Center’s case studies have been cited in textbooks published by academic presses and in design awards adjudicated by organizations such as the American Institute of Architects and the Healthcare Design Magazine competitions.
Governance typically includes a board of directors comprising leaders drawn from hospitals, academia, design firms, and manufacturing companies; notable affiliations of board members have included Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Perkins+Will, and HKS, Inc.. Operational teams include research staff collaborating with university research centers such as University of California, Los Angeles and University of Pennsylvania, plus education and outreach staff working with partner organizations like the American Hospital Association and the National Health Service in the UK on selected initiatives.
Funding sources include membership dues from healthcare systems such as Kaiser Permanente and Cleveland Clinic, sponsorships from corporations like GE Healthcare, Philips, and Siemens, and grants from foundations and agencies including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Strategic partnerships have involved professional organizations such as the American Institute of Architects, accreditation bodies like the Joint Commission, academic institutions including Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University, and international collaborators such as the World Health Organization.
Category:Healthcare organizations Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States