Observant readers of HEALTHCARE DESIGN will recall that the last few December issues of the magazine have included a popular feature called “Twenty Who Are Making a Difference.” Our editorial team would ask recognized architects, interior designers, consultants, and others in the field to nominate their peers who they thought had made a significant difference in advancing the design of healthcare facilities. We invited them to name “stars”-both known and lesser-known-from their own companies, as well as from other companies who, despite working for competitors, deserved the recognition.
The editorial team would review these nominations and, in a most unscientific manner, choose the individuals to be featured in the magazine. Many factors would enter our minds, but there was no “formula,” no real reason for selection other than personal preference and the appeal of any given person's story. While the piece was always popular with the audience (to say nothing of the winners!), the HCD team always felt that there must be a better way.
With that in mind, the most logical step was to open the decision to the public. In late April, we launched a public nomination period on the magazine's Web site (http://www.healthcaredesignmagazine.com) and asked our readership to tell us:
Who are the most influential people in healthcare design in 2009?
A shortlist of 50 names was established following the nomination period from which the final public voting took place. Taking the results from this final online voting, as well as votes from our esteemed Editorial Board and our publishing partners at The Center for Health Design, we have now arrived at a final list of 25 individuals.
On this list, you'll find a veritable who's who of the healthcare design industry, from architects and interior designers to academics and researchers. While there are still some bugs to be worked out of the process, we do feel that the list is fairly representative of today's best and brightest, and we congratulate those individuals who made this final list-surely one of the most heartening and flattering forms of praise is recognition from one's peers.
If you find yourself disagreeing with the results, I encourage you to watch these pages for instructions on how to vote in next year's poll. And of course, congratulations to those outstanding individuals selected here!
Todd Hutlock
Editor-in-Chief
HEALTHCARE DESIGN
