While World Health Day is not exactly the sort of “holiday” that one generally celebrates, it is still worthy of attention none the less. The brainchild of theWorld Health Organzation (WHO), World Health Day was established in 1950 and is held on April 7 each year to mark WHO’s founding. The holiday draws worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year, and the WHO organizes international, regional, and local events related to a particular theme. This year’s theme is “Anti-Microbial Resistance: No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow,” a subject that should resonante loudly with the healthcare design community. The subject of infection control has been all over the news of late, and WHO calling further attention to the issue can only help awareness of the issue. My colleage Jennifer Kovacs
posted a blog earlier this week on Johns Hopkins’ findings about hands-free faucets — proof positive that things are not always what they seem in the infection control world. In any case, I hope we can continue the discussion going, here and elsewhere. If ever there were an issue that touches each and every one of us, it is this one. You, the healthcare designers, however, are in a particularly crucial role in this whole process, one capable of making true and lasting changes to the way things are done in our healthcare facilities. I urge you all to keep this issue front of mind, not just today, but on all of your jobs moving forward.