Healthcare Design - May 2022 - 41

the center
ADVERTISERS' INDEX
CALL TO ACTION
Architex ...............................................................C4
Arcadia Contract ................................................... 13
Armstrong Ceilings .................................................. 8
ASI Group ........................................................... 10
BDNY ................................................................. 40
Carolina ................................................................ 1
Center for Health Design................................... 36, 53
Champion Chair ................................................... 35
Cortech USA ........................................................ 14
DeepStream Designs .............................................. 38
EFA Conference + Expo.......................................... 42
Enduratex ............................................................. 38
ERG International ................................................... 29
HCD Conference + Expo ........................................ 31
HealthPoint .......................................................... 32
ICFF .................................................................... 34
Interwoven ............................................................. 5
Krug ..................................................................... 2
Kwalu .................................................................C2
La-Z-Boy Healthcare | Knú Comfort ........................... 21
Moduform ............................................................C3
modularArts .......................................................... 15
Pineapple Contracts ............................................... 23
RFID .................................................................... 54
Senior Lifestyle Design Match ................................... 62
Spec Furniture ....................................................... 39
Stance Healthcare ................................................... 7
The index to advertiser page numbers is published for
reader convenience. Every effort is made to list page
numbers correctly. The listing is not part of the advertising
contract and the publisher is not responsible for errors
or omissions.
The industry is making steps to embrace DEI in
projects and the profession By Melissa Piatkowski
T
WO YEARS AFTER the
murder of George Floyd in
Minneapolis and the growing
acknowledgment of
systemic racism in the U.S.,
many of us are asking: " What
can we do? Can we make a
difference through design? "
To answer this question, we must first explore
the history of systemic racism and design. For
example, if you start reading about the history of
redlining-the discriminatory practice of denying
home loans, insurance, and even healthcare
to residents of communities based on their race
or ethnicity-you'll see the confluence of racism
and the built environment, how this practice
dating back to the 1930s continues to have longlasting
impacts today.
The problems are rooted in more than what
and how we design; it's also who is designing.
The architects and designers in the healthcare
industry are rarely representative of the groups
being impacted by injustice. According to
recent National Council of Architectural Registration
Boards (NCARB) data, only 2 percent
of architects in the U.S. identify as Black or
African American.
We have to think about just healthcare design
not only as the product, but as a process and as
a profession. Successful diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI) efforts in design must be a part
of everything we do, and not as a silo within
an organization.
At The Center for Health Design, our Just
Health Design taskforce aims to integrate DEI
initiatives into every project, meaning we are using
a DEI lens when looking at the programs we
create and the industry experts who lead them
to more closely reflect the diversity of the world
around us.
For example, a recent webinar in our " Voices
of the Industry " series focused on DEI and
design insights. This program, " Equity in Health
and Wellness: The Power of Design for People
and Communities, " featured four unique voices
working at the intersection of healthcare and
design to solve disparities in healthcare access,
delivery, and opportunity. In case you missed it,
it's available free and on demand on our website.
We're seeing other such efforts to expand
diversity in the profession, too. For example,
in 2021, Perkins&Will and The American Institute
of Architects developed a best practice
resource for firms committed to DEI. This
white paper, " Creating a Culture of Justice,
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Your Architectural
Practice, " outlines several key
strategies as a starting point to help firms find
their footing. Not because DEI work improves
the bottom line (which it does), but because it
is the right thing to do.
Additionally, at the 2021 Healthcare Design
Conference + Expo, we heard speaker Frank
Zilm's call to action: for all firms and organizations
in the room to consider how to take a
concrete step toward addressing the lack of
diversity in healthcare design. Zilm, the Chester
Dean Lecturer on Healthcare Design at the
University of Kansas School of Architecture,
Design, and Planning, suggested that if every firm
in the room sponsored a diversity scholarship, we
could start to see real change in the industry.
We still have a long way to go, but it's truly inspiring
to see the incremental changes moving
the industry and the profession forward and
closer to a more just, equitable future. 
Melissa Piatkowski is research associate at The
Center for Health Design. She can be reached at
MPIATKOWSKI@HEALTHDESIGN.ORG .
MAY 2022
41
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