The Center for Health Design

The Center for Health Design Research: We help facilitate research on how the design of the built environment affects outcomes.

The Center for Health Design is a non-profit organization - through design research, education and advocacy we improve and maximize health, safety and wellness in environments where people live, work and heal. A major initiative is the Pebble Project, a unique and dynamic collaborative, where forward-thinking healthcare, design, and industry professionals learn, research, and share information with one another. Our website has more than 40 free research reports and whitepapers that link the built environment to outcomes and searchable databases of relevant research and project examples. Education: Our Evidence-based Design Accreditation & Certification (EDAC) program is an internationally recognized educational program that awards credentials to individuals who demonstrate a thorough understanding of how to apply an evidence-based process to plan and design healthcare facilities. With more than 1,200 certified individuals since its launch in 2009, EDAC is quickly becoming one of the healthcare design industry’s most important credentials. Each year, more than 4,000 individuals attend our annual Healthcare Design conference and 30,000 subscribe to Healthcare Design magazine (both produced by Vendome Group in association with CHD). Advocacy: We recognize and promote excellence in design and leadership through 5 award programs. By providing input into the Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities, we are advocating for change in the building codes and standards. A partner in the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, we are an active participant in a coalition of major health systems and organizations committed to improving sustainability and safety across the healthcare sector. Hundreds of individuals and organizations are engaged to support our work and help transform the industry through our affiliate membership program.

Clinical expertise is essential to creating healthcare environments that truly work for patients, staff, and organizatio...
11/21/2025

Clinical expertise is essential to creating healthcare environments that truly work for patients, staff, and organizations—but how do you measure its impact?

Join Kristina Krail of Krail Advisory and Kelly Guzman of Yellow Brick Consulting for our upcoming virtual event — ROI of the Clinical Voice in Healthcare Design: How to Get It and What It’s Worth in the Quest for Better Designs. This session will explore how engaging clinicians in the design process can lead to better outcomes, smarter decision-making, and environments that truly support care delivery.

Attendees will learn the value of integrating the clinical perspective in shared decision-making models and the potential risks when it’s missing. Free registration here: https://loom.ly/Cgleu60

Located in our Behavioral & Mental Health Toolbox sponsored by Accurate Lock & Hardware Co., Altro Americas, architectur...
11/20/2025

Located in our Behavioral & Mental Health Toolbox sponsored by Accurate Lock & Hardware Co., Altro Americas, architecture+, Whitehall Manufacturing and ModuForm, Inc, in the Project Brief: Does Space Matter? An Exploratory Study for a Child–Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit, researchers aim to explore design elements and spaces as a contributing influence to behavior and well-being for patients, staff, and families in a child–adolescent mental health unit.

Through a mixed-methods approach, they found that several design elements and spaces were identified as influential in eliciting feelings of calm among patients and staff. Read about the project by visiting the toolbox. https://loom.ly/P7yT99M

Healthcare is moving beyond the walls of the hospital. This is partially due to a growing population of patients who req...
11/19/2025

Healthcare is moving beyond the walls of the hospital. This is partially due to a growing population of patients who require medical care but are stable enough to be treated at home (including older adults with acute and chronic conditions).

Home environments that support medical care can reduce unnecessary hospitalization, influence health and wellbeing, and help to maintain a person's independence. To learn more, check out our free interactive design diagram tool for healthcare at home here: https://loom.ly/3YyaaCU

Tune into the latest episode of The Healthcare Interior Design 2.0 Podcast with Kristin Leija of Perkins&Will. Kristin b...
11/18/2025

Tune into the latest episode of The Healthcare Interior Design 2.0 Podcast with Kristin Leija of Perkins&Will. Kristin brings big-firm reach with a startup spirit—supporting teams across Texas while anchoring in San Antonio’s historic Pearl District. As a post-COVID entrant to healthcare design, she pairs digital fluency with CHID/EDAC rigor and a community-first mindset.

Kristin shares her experience building credibility without 20 years on the clock, designing for a multicultural city, caregiver realities (including her own), and the rising focus on behavioral health and “living design” sustainability. Listen to the episode here: https://loom.ly/5RuOqCA

Our Center Stage newsletter provides an opportunity for our healthcare design community to learn more about products, se...
11/18/2025

Our Center Stage newsletter provides an opportunity for our healthcare design community to learn more about products, services and solutions available to support new construction and renovation projects.

This month's Center Stage features Stance Healthcare's Flo Rocker for behavioral health environments; Whitehall Manufacturing's Single Occupancy Suite; Whiterock Matte and Fortis Titanium 15 wall protection by Altro Americas; the Medella homogeneous Resilient Sheet Collection by Mohawk Group; and Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering's new Silica PVC-free collection. View this month's Center Stage newsletter here: https://loom.ly/dFfqB70

Have you registered for the EDAC exam already? If not, take advantage of our risk-free offer! Register by December 31 to...
11/17/2025

Have you registered for the EDAC exam already? If not, take advantage of our risk-free offer! Register by December 31 to save 10%, get a free one-day webinar pass, and enjoy one free retake if needed. Your year-end bonus is waiting—don’t miss this limited-time offer! Learn more here: https://loom.ly/VvjPZoc

Want to hear who's doing what, where and how in healthcare design? Our monthly Currents newsletter features new research...
11/14/2025

Want to hear who's doing what, where and how in healthcare design? Our monthly Currents newsletter features new research, tools, resources and events for you. Follow the link to see our November 2025 newsletter. Read it here: https://loom.ly/zJL4n9E

Integrating an Evidence-Based Design (EBD) process with Lean methodology during a project’s planning, design and constru...
11/12/2025

Integrating an Evidence-Based Design (EBD) process with Lean methodology during a project’s planning, design and construction phases can yield a wide and unique range of health, safety, quality and business outcomes. Attend our 2026 PDC Summit Pre-Conference Workshop to hear The Center's Donna Deckard, Terri Zborowsky of HGA, Andrea Sponsel of HKS Architects and Jeff O'Neill of RWJ Barnabas – Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton lead you through the EBD fundamentals of finding and applying relevant research, and leveraging Lean methods to identity and prioritize issues.

You will learn how and where to incorporate Lean and EBD during the various stages, how to build a business case linking design to health outcomes, and hear examples of how organizations have successfully integrated these processes. Learn more and register at the link. https://loom.ly/CvFR_x8

The Center for Health Design website attracts highly competent and skilled professionals seeking the latest research and...
11/11/2025

The Center for Health Design website attracts highly competent and skilled professionals seeking the latest research and information in the health design field. What better place to look for talent for your company? Purchase a job posting - either 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days - and we will add it to our website's job board. To purchase a job posting, visit this link. https://loom.ly/DOjH7Bo

Join us this Thursday at the Interface Dallas Showroom for Blueprint for Mitigating Nurse Burnout: A Social Listening Pe...
11/10/2025

Join us this Thursday at the Interface Dallas Showroom for Blueprint for Mitigating Nurse Burnout: A Social Listening Perspective with Deborah Wingler of HKS Architects. This session will delve into the lived experiences of nurses, where attendees will explore the physical, psychosocial, cognitive and emotional dimensions of fatigue contributing to burnout, the specific environmental factors at play and potential design solutions to mitigate this growing crisis.

Be a part of this pivotal conversation as we bridge the gap between research and practical application in health care design, crafting spaces that nurture those at the heart of patient care. Learn more and register here: https://loom.ly/Ve-Dutw

Thank you to the Interface team Steve Jende, Danny Airhart, Sara Levy, Hayley Wilson and Laura Craig for helping create this event!

Our monthly Tools & Resources newsletter features a variety of Center-produced resources to help inform our design commu...
11/07/2025

Our monthly Tools & Resources newsletter features a variety of Center-produced resources to help inform our design community of the best and latest research, tools and design solutions.

The topic of our November 2025 newsletter is the healing effects of nature. Exposure and access to nature, gardens and outdoor views have proven, restorative capabilities that can impact patients, families and staff in numerous, positive ways. Nature can help reduce stress, provide calming distraction, improve emotional and overall wellbeing, and even help speed up the rate of healing and recovery.

To support improved care and medical outcomes, and enhance the experience for patients and their families, today’s design, facility and care professionals must advance their understanding of nature’s role in health, and incorporate the best and latest research, tools and design solutions. https://loom.ly/3FKqf0I

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Research: We help facilitate research on how the design of the built environment affects outcomes. A major initiative is the Pebble Project, a unique and dynamic collaborative, where forward-thinking healthcare, design, and industry professionals learn, research, and share information with one another. Our website has more than 40 free research reports and whitepapers that link the built environment to outcomes and searchable databases of relevant research and project examples. Education: Our Evidence-based Design Accreditation & Certification (EDAC) program is an internationally recognized educational program that awards credentials to individuals who demonstrate a thorough understanding of how to apply an evidence-based process to plan and design healthcare facilities. With more than 1,200 certified individuals since its launch in 2009, EDAC is quickly becoming one of the healthcare design industry’s most important credentials. Each year, more than 4,000 individuals attend our annual Healthcare Design conference and 30,000 subscribe to Healthcare Design magazine (both produced by Vendome Group in association with CHD). Advocacy: We recognize and promote excellence in design and leadership through 5 award programs. By providing input into the Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities, we are advocating for change in the building codes and standards. A partner in the Healthier Hospitals Initiative, we are an active participant in a coalition of major health systems and organizations committed to improving sustainability and safety across the healthcare sector. Hundreds of individuals and organizations are engaged to support our work and help transform the industry through our affiliate membership program.