The ABC’s of Healthcare Design
The practice of Healthcare Design has grown and evolved at a remarkable pace since Dr. Wayne Ruga, FAIA, FIIDA, Hon. FASID, founded the Healthcare Symposium in the mid 1980’s. Over the past three decades, a number of research and knowledge sharing organizations, credentialing methods and guidelines have been developed.
Here are a few of the Healthcare Design industry’s acronyms decoded (excerpts are taken from the ‘About Us’ section of the organization’s webpage):
ASHE – American Society of Healthcare Engineering
ASHE, a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association, is a trusted industry resource that provides education, regulatory guidance, networking, advocacy representation, and professional development for our members. www.ashe.org
AAHID – American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers
Founded in 2004, AAHID is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization that board-certifies interior designers in the U.S. and Canada who specialize in healthcare- including acute care, ambulatory care, and residential care facility design. www.aahid.org
ACHA – American College of Healthcare Architects
The American College of Healthcare Architects provides Board Certification for Architects who practice as healthcare specialists. Our certificate holders include healthcare architects throughout the United States and Canada with specialized skills and proven expertise. www.healtharchitects.org
CHD – Center for Health Design
Throughout our history, The Center has established a proven track record of creating, launching and delivering programs that provide true value to the healthcare design industry — The Pebble Project, EDAC certification, the Affiliate Program, the HERD Journal, the Healthcare Design Expo & Conference, along with the largest collection of healthcare design research, best practices, resources and tools for today’s most urgent and challenging healthcare design issues. www.healthdesign.org
EDAC – Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification
Evidence-Based Design (EBD) is the process of basing decisions about the built environment on credible research to achieve the best possible outcomes. Their Mission is to develop a community of certified industry professionals through education and assessment of an evidence-based design process. Their Vision is a world where all healthcare environments are created using an evidence-based design process. www.healthdesign.org/certification-outreach/edac
FGI – Facilities Guidelines Institute
We’re an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing guidance for the planning, design and construction of hospitals, outpatient facilities, and residential health, care and support facilities. We oversee the FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction revision process and publication, fund research and offer resources that support the development of safe, effective health and residential care built environments. www.fgiguidelines.org
NIHD – Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design
The organization’s mission is to engage and integrate clinical expertise into the planning and design of healthcare environments, and their vision is to shape the future of healthcare environments through clinical and inter-professional leadership. www.nursingihd.com
In conclusion as those of you in the healthcare design sector know this is just the beginning the multitude of research and credentialing organizations in our growing industry. IDO offers innovative solutions and best practices design for our healthcare clients by frequently referring to these resources and more! We are a team who is passionate about providing highly functional healing spaces that improve patient outcomes and support the needs of caregivers and staff.
