One always goes into a new venture with high hopes. There is no motivation in just “try it and see what happens.” You have a vision, and you know that if you do it right, you will feel highly gratified. In all honesty, though, we didn’t anticipate the success of HealthCare DESIGN, first published last November.

From comments and other feedback we received from the field, we discovered that the new publication had opened a door for designers and facility planners that hadn’t been there before. Many said they had never had access to such a variety of cutting-edge designs and concepts grouped together in one publication. Inspired by this response, we eagerly planned our second edition—the magazine you now hold in your hands.

It is, as you can see, larger than the first edition and, we hope, at least as provocative. As they did the first year, Debra Levin of The Center for Health Design and our expert panel of judges continue to lead us and our readers on the never-ending journey of progressive design.

This is the fruit of their efforts, as well as those of the hardworking staff at Medquest Communications.

Sizable as this publication is, though, we have found that there is more than enough subject matter to sustain a regularly published magazine. Thus, our third annual Architectural Showcase a year from now will be one issue of a quarterly publication that we are launching early in 2003, under the name HealthCare DESIGN.

We and The Center for Health Design are inviting designers and planners to discuss the issues that are now impacting their field—issues such as:

  • design of clinical spaces that are both patient-friendly and flexible enough to accommodate ever-changing patient populations;

  • decentralization as an advantage or disadvantage for staff;

  • designers’ need to peer into a technologic crystal ball for the accommodation of advanced equipment and evolving information technology;

  • the practicality and implementation of so-called green (or sustainable) design;

  • incorporation of the latest advances in building support systems, such as for air handling or safety management;

  • organization and uses of evidence-based design;

  • the practice of design teamwork, involving staff and even patients across all levels; and

  • the question of visionary leadership as a key to progressive design.

In short, there is plenty to discuss. Now that a large-scale need for information has been discovered, The Center for Health Design, our expert advisors and Medquest Communications plan to do all that we can to address it. HD

Sidebar

THE JUDGES


Nominated by The Center for Health Design (clockwise from top left)

Amy Nemschoff Hellman

Manager, Marketing Communications

NEMSCHOFF

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Jens Mammen

Senior Associate, HOK Chicago, Illinois

Alan Mack, ASID

Partner, Proteus Group, LLC

Chicago, Illinois

Ethel B. Nemetz, ASID

Principal, EN Design Associates, Inc.

Chicago, Illinois

John E. Fishbeck

Associate Director, Division of Research, Standards Development Group, JCAHO

Chicago, Illinois

Erika Goss, RN

Nursing Consultant, TRO/The Ritchie Organization

Boston, Massachusetts

Sheila F. Cahnman, AIA, ACHA

Associate Vice-President, HLM Design

Chicago, Illinois