Environments for Aging - Spring 2018 - 11

EDITORIAL

Inspired design
It's important to be reminded of what drives your work
and this industry By Jennifer Kovacs Silvis
As the editor of two design magazines, Environments for
Aging and Healthcare Design, I find that industry members
often assume I landed here by way of a previous career in
architecture or interiors. I always tell them that journalism is
actually my trade, and the reason I've remained with these
brands for the past eight years is that you all got me hooked.
It wasn't long after joining this team that I started to
understand the importance of what senior living and
healthcare design professionals do-how far-reaching it all
is. I listened as project teams shared with me the thought
and methodology behind any number of design solutions,
details that improve everything from outcomes and safety to satisfaction and wellness. I
was-and still am-blown away by the significance of it all, how complex any one project
is, and consider it a privilege to share your work and to help inform it.
And that's my spark. It's what keeps me going.
I know that all of you have a professional spark, too. That's why in this issue (and
online) we're introducing a new column called The Spark, where we'll invite industry
members to share an essay on the moment, person, or project that set you on this career
path, that instilled a passion for senior living design that inspires your work each day. It
also serves as a reminder for us all not to lose sight of what drives us and why we do
what we do.
Our first installment comes from Michelle Clark, senior associate and senior living
expert at Rees, who shares a touching story of how she was drawn to this profession by
her father, a senior living architect, and then how her design approach was subsequently
shaped by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's and her family's experience at the
community where her mom lived (see page 128).
Her piece is not only a perfect way to kick off this new column, but it's a timely topic as
we head into the Environments for Aging Expo & Conference April 21-24 in Savannah, Ga.
(See page 14 for show preview coverage.) This year our conference program design team
received a surge of memory care presentation proposals-so many that we dedicated a
full track to the topic.
At the end of the show, we'll tie it all together and offer attendees a look forward during
a closing keynote panel discussion on memory care, which I'll be moderating. My hope is
that these efforts will deliver a solid foundation of best practices for today and ideas for
how to support evolving care approaches in years to come.
Because as Michelle reminds us, there are families out there who need this industry to
get it right. EFA

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Lori Alford
Chief Operating Officer
Avanti Senior Living
CC Andrews
President and Chief Strategist
Quantum Age Collaborative
David Banta
Director, Senior Living
WDG Architecture PLLC
Laura Busalacchi
Senior Director of Interior Services
Brookdale Senior Living
Vassar Byrd
Chief Executive Officer
Rose Villa Senior Living
Margaret Calkins
Board Chair
Ideas Institute
Daniel J. Cinelli
Managing Principal and Board Director
Perkins Eastman
Michelle Clark
Senior Associate
Rees
Andy Coelho
Senior Vice President of Facilities, Design,
and Development
Sunrise Senior Living
Alexis Denton
Principal
SmithGroupJJR
Mitch Elliott
Senior Partner
RDG Planning & Design
Lorraine Hiatt
Environmental Gerontologist
Planning, Research and Design Consultation
Steve Lindsey
Chief Executive Officer
Garden Spot Communities
Dean Maddalena
Founder and President
StudioSix5
Eric McRoberts
Partner
RLPS Architects
Robert C. Pfauth
Director of Senior Living Planning
Erdman
Jane Rohde
Principal
JSR Associates Inc.
Jill Schroeder
Senior Planner/Senior Interior Designer
Pope Architects
Rob Simonetti
Senior Associate and Design Director
SWBR

Spring 2018 * EFAmagazine.com

11
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Environments for Aging - Spring 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Environments for Aging - Spring 2018
