Camaraderie, Synergy, and Leadership

The board of directors at The Center for Health Design (CHD) is made up of a small but significant group of likeminded and diversely experienced individuals who rally around a common mission and inspire relevant thinking for a nonprofit organization that affects the design of healthcare environments all around the world. Each year different people who have contributed to the health design industry rotate on and off the board, adding richness to The Center’s strategy and connectedness.

This year we said goodbye to Paul Uhlig, MD, and Julie Schmidt, after several terms of service.

At the same time, we welcome healthcare futurist Joe Flower; Charlotte Yeh, MD, chief medical officer, AARP Services Inc.; and Barry Rabner, president and CEO, Princeton Healthcare System. I’d like to acknowledge each for their career accomplishments and the expertise they bring to our small but change-making group with a spirit of camaraderie, synergy, and leadership.

Outgoing Members

Paul Uhlig, MD, MPA, FACS

Uhlig received his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine; served his residency in general surgery with additional training in general thoracic surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, his cardiothoracic surgery residency at Indiana University; and was a research fellow in cardiovascular physiology at the University of California San Francisco.

He is an internationally recognized expert in patient safety, high-reliability healthcare teamwork, and patient and family involvement in care. The cardiac surgery team he led at Concord Hospital, in Concord, New Hampshire, received the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety Award, the highest honor in patient safety awarded by the Joint Commission and National Quality Forum.

Uhlig’s research on understanding the social processes that underlie clinical practice culture has been his greatest contribution as a CHD board director.

Julie Schmidt

As chief transformation officer (CTO), Schmidt is driving strategic initiatives and business growth to help HealthEast achieve its milestone quality goal of becoming the “benchmark for quality in the Twin Cities by 2010” and beyond. She is responsible for creating the road map for change to fundamentally position the entire organization for sustained growth.

Schmidt recently led a dynamic team of hospital administrators in her role as CEO of Woodwinds Health Campus, a collaboration between HealthEast Care System and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics. She embarked upon this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 1997, when she accepted the challenge of helping to transform the patient care experience by creating an innovative and unique hospital designed around the needs of patients and families. 

Since opening in August 2000, the 86-bed acute care facility in Woodbury, Minnesota, has earned national and international accolades for its healing environment design, compassionate service philosophy, and holistic model of care. She was the voice of the decision-maker at the CHD board table. Her insight on nonprofit governance and operations was invaluable.

“I have been honored to serve on the board for The Center for Health Design,” she says. “I am passionate about CHD’s vision to transform healthcare environments. The Center for Health Design is in the center of the health revolution and will play an even more important role in the future.”

Incoming Members

Joe Flower

With more than 30 years of experience, Flower has emerged as a premier observer and thought-leader on the deep forces changing healthcare in the United States and around the world. As a healthcare speaker, writer, and consultant, he has explored the future of healthcare with clients both nationally and abroad. He is the author of hundreds of healthcare articles.