Healthcare Design - December 2016 - 35

The

Center

A YEAR TO REMEMBER
The past 12 months brought us a new healthcare
building type, growing industry resources, and a
space flower By Debra Levin

S WE BID farewell to 2016 and get ready to welcome
in the New Year, there's much in the past 12 months
to reflect on-for our country, our industry, and The
Center for Health Design.
Last month we elected a new president in what
seemed to be the most contentious and anomalous
race in my history as a voter. Time will give us perspective on the experience, and historians will no doubt
be studying this race and what it's meant to our country for years to come.
Hopefully, as we move forward, we can begin to build a solid foundation on
what we have in common rather than focus on
where we diverge.
In our industry, we saw the growth of a new
MICRO HOSPITALS ARE
trend: micro hospitals. These projects are popping up in fast-growing urban and suburban
POPPING UP IN FASTmarkets where the need for health services is
GROWING MARKETS,
emerging faster than health systems can provide
WITH COMPREHENSIVE
them. These facilities offer all of the comprehensive emergency services of a large hospital but
SERVICES BUT FEWER
with fewer inpatient beds, allowing providers to
INPATIENT BEDS.
offer access to quality healthcare at a substantially lower cost than building a more traditional
hospital.
The Zika virus became a global public health emergency and made its way
to the U.S., prompting healthcare and design professionals here to start to
look at the impact the virus could have in our communities.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his physician wife, Priscilla
Chan, pledged $3 billion to medical research to "cure, prevent, or manage all
diseases by the end of the century," making our industry's increasing focus
on creating wellness spaces more relevant than ever.

The Environments for Aging Expo & Conference (produced by Healthcare Design's parent
company, Emerald Expositions, and The Center
for Health Design) had its largest attendance to
date, with close to 1,000 industry professionals
gathering in Austin, Texas, in April to explore
new models of senior housing and care and share
innovative ideas on how the built environment
can promote healthy and active aging.
The Center launched the new Affiliate+ program as part of an overall website redesign. The
new website made it easier to find tools and resources that connect health and operational outcomes to design strategies, and the new Affiliate+
program brought the addition of a variety of new
tools and resources. The Center's website saw an
increase of 11 percent in usage since the launch.
The Pebble Program expanded its international presence with two new Pebble Partners joining
the program from outside the United States, one
in Singapore and another in Australia.
The Center also launched nine new Hot Topic
toolboxes on subjects ranging from clinic design
to the impact of aging. Each toolbox includes a
variety of resources, from in-depth literature reviews to blog postings and partner project case
studies on new and interesting developments in
our industry.
And in case you missed it, the first ever flower
was grown in space this year, a zinnia aboard the
International Space Station. It's good to know
that once we start to design intergalactic hospitals, we'll still be able to have healing gardens.
I wish you all a happy holiday season, good
health, and great adventures in 2017. 
Debra Levin is president and CEO of The Center for
Health Design. She can be reached at D L E V I N @
H E A LT H D E S I G N . O R G .

DECEMBER 2016

Healthcare Design - December 2016

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