Victor Dadras on the 9th Annual Healthcare Design Conference
As the Program Coordinator of the new Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Healthcare Interior Design graduate program (launching in Fall 2012), I attended the Ninth Annual Healthcare Design Conference to meet, to learn from, and to share information with all of the leading educators, researchers, medical planners, healthcare designers, and product manufacturers from throughout the country. We discussed the most current developments, and innovations in healthcare design –including evidence-based design, educational and research initiatives, and new product developments.
During my conversations with many leading healthcare designers and educators from around the country, including Roz Cama, David Allison, Andrew Jarvis, and Jaine Malkin, I was given the opportunity to introduce NYSID’s MPS in Healthcare Interior Design to the professional community. The MPS was created by NYSID VP for Academic Affairs and Dean, Dr. Ellen Fisher, with critical input from industry experts Tama Duffy Day and Mike Pukszta. It will be a rigorous, ground-breaking program that will attract designers, architects, and medical planners. The conference was a great way to get the word out there!
The conference Keynote Speaker, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, of the University of Pennsylvania and a special advisor for health policy to the White House, described the $2.6 trillion health care industry and its monumental growth and rapid transformation. He also remarked on the $40 billion annual construction portion of the industry and the enormous need for new and innovative design ideas for healthcare facilities. During the economic recession, healthcare has remained a growth industry for designers, and that is expected to continue.
Although there are highly regarded programs in healthcare design architecture, everyone agreed that NYSID’s MPS program is unique in its focus on healthcare interiors and on the business of healthcare. There is clearly a huge need for quality healthcare design education and all acknowledged that interior design is a fundamentally important component of interdisciplinary project teams. NYSID’s program will accept students from medical, facilities, and construction backgrounds, as well as designers seeking specialized education. NYSID was invited to become actively involved in future meetings, conferences, and competitions promoting healthcare interior design.
I was very glad to be able to attend the conference and to introduce our new MPS in Healthcare Interior Design program to the national healthcare design and education communities on behalf of NYSID. It is a very exciting time for our school!