Publication type: "Panel Discussions"

RAIC Panel Discussion- Redefining Long-Term Care: Architecture, Culture, and Person-Centered Approaches

September 3, 2025 / Dochitect / Design for Geriatrics

Presentations

Organization: The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC)
Title: Redefining Long-Term Care: Architecture, Culture, and Person-Centered Approaches
Date: September 3, 2025

The RAIC Long Term Care Design Working Group presents Redefining Long-Term Care: Architecture, Culture, and Person-Centered Approaches.

DESCRIPTION: Join us for a 90-minute moderated panel discussion exploring the evolving role of architecture in long-term care (LTC) and dementia-friendly environments. In this session, experts will address key issues such as redefining institutional care, fostering cultural change, and creating architectural solutions that prioritize person-centered care. Panelists will share their experiences with new models of care, the importance of individualized care plans, and the impact of inclusive design on quality of life for residents.

This engaging session will provide architects, designers, and care professionals with practical insights on how to design environments that support aging in place and individuals with dementia. The webinar will also feature a live Q&A and provide valuable resources for further learning.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify key challenges in the current long-term care system and understand the need for redefined care models.

2. Describe how cultural shifts in long-term care settings can improve the experience of residents and staff.

3. Recognize architectural strategies and design components that support aging in place and dementia-friendly environments.

4. Evaluate the impact of person-centered care in long-term care, and the balance between standardized and evidence-based design.

5. Understand how to engage key stakeholders in the shift towards more inclusive, supportive care environments.

For more information, click HERE.

Panel Discussions

SALUS TV Series – The Future Hospital: Critical Care 2050

January 26, 2022 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Presentations

Event: The Future Hospital: Critical Care 2050
Date: January 26, 2022, 17.00–18.30 GMT

New “innovation” series on SALUS TV to explore the future hospital to 2050:

The pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges for healthcare, but it has also paved the way for transformational change in preparedness, response and recovery. Expandable and flexible bed and staffing capacities, safer ICU design, more effective triage, digital transformation and adoption of AI, and new approaches to communication with patients and families are all changing the way critical care services and facilities are being planned and designed. An expert panel will imagine what critical care medicine and the settings in which it is delivered will look like in the future.

Panel:

Chair: Tina Nolan, managing director, ETL; Health Planning Academy, UK;
Dr Ganesh Suntharalingam, intensivist, London North West University Healthcare; past president, Intensive Care Society, UK;
Dr Diana Anderson, dochitect, Jacobs; instructor of neurology, Boston University School of Medicine; geriatric neurology fellow, VA Boston, USA;
Dr Tom Best, clinical director of critical care, King’s College London, UK;
Dr Benjamin Bassin, associate professor, Emergency Medicine; director, Emergency Critical Care Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, USA; and
Graeme Hall, executive chairman, Brandon Medical, UK.

Click HERE to learn more about the Future Hospital 5050 series.

Panel Discussions

Wolters Kluwer Health: Advances in Brain Health

October 12, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for Geriatrics, Health Design & Ethics

Presentations

Event: Advances in Brain Health, hosted by Wolters Kluwer Health
Panelists: José Biller MD, Jason Karlawish MD, Diana Anderson MD
Date: October 12, 2021

Panel Discussion: Advances in Brain Health

Please join us for an interactive discussion about new and evolving topics in the treatment of neurological diseases and new ways to consider the long-term health of your patients. Join experts as they discuss current topics in neurology, including:

Next steps in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s
Long COVID and its relationship with neurological symptoms
Evidence-based design health impacts of the built environment in dementia and other neurological disorder

Panelists:

José Biller, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Neurology, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Medical Center; Editor, Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases

Jason Karlawish, MD, Professor of Medicine, Medical Ethics and Health Policy, and Neurology, University of Pennsylvania; Co-Director, Penn Memory Center; Author, The Problem of Alzheimer’s: How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It

Diana Anderson, MD, M.Arch, ACHA, Founder, Dochitect, Fellow in Geriatric Neurology, VA Boston Healthcare System, Instructor of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine

Moderator: Susan Dentzer, Senior Policy Fellow, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke University

Panel Discussions

ULI – Science for Design

June 16, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for the Future of Health

Presentations

Event: Urban Land Institute (ULI) OnPoint
Title: Science for Design
Date: June 16, 2021
Panelists: Morgan Hutchinson, MD, Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Panel Chair), Catriona Brady, World Green Building Council, Diana Anderson, MD, Jacobs

What changes should be made to the built environment in response to the current public health crisis? How have our tendencies shifted in the last year and how has that impacted the ways we interact with indoor space? Expert speakers will offer fascinating insights on design for the built environment, including the impacts to our physical and mental health. Learn how neuro-architecture can inform building better and healthier indoor environments and hear strategies that office owners and operators can quickly implement to incrementally improve the office work environment.

Read more about the event HERE.

Panel Discussions

2021 European Healthcare Design Congress

June 14, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for Geriatrics, Design for the Future of Health

Presentations

Event: 2021 European Healthcare Design Congress
Dates: June 14-17, 2021

June 14, 2021
Session: Deconstructing the hospital to save itChair: Ganesh Suntharalingam, Intensive Care Society, UK
Panelists: William Hercules, WJH Health, USA; Benjamin Bassin; Cemal Sozener, University of Michigan Health System, USA; Diana Anderson, VA Boston Health System, USA

June 15, 2021
Session: Environments for modern ward rounds for multidisciplinary inpatient review
The Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Nursing, together with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and NHS Improvement, have developed updated guidance on ‘Modern ward rounds for multidisciplinary care in hospital wards’. Key elements include: space for multi-professional confidential discussion about and with patients; reducing noise levels to improve cognition; minimising interruptions; interactions with technology to improve information sharing and records; reducing hierarchy to improve communication; and decision-making. This workshop will explore opportunities and challenges in hospital wards to creating the best environment for high-quality multidisciplinary care.

Chair: John Dean, Royal College of Physicians, UK
Panelists: Andrew Rochford, NHS England & NHS Improvement, UK; Nicky Ashby, Royal College of Nursing, UK; Jennifer Flatman, Royal College of Physicians; Clinical pharmacist, UK; Diana Anderson, Jacobs, USA; Cemal B Sozener, University of Michigan Medical School, USA; Bill Hercules, WJH Health, USA Lynne Quinney, Patient representative, UK

June 16, 2021
Session: Nursing home design and Covid-19: balancing infection control, quality of life,
and resilience
Chair: Sylvia Wyatt, Health and care strategic advisor and consultant, UK
Panelists:Thomas Grey, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Diana C Anderson, VA Boston Health System, USA

June 17, 2021
Session: How will Covid-19 change healthcare design?
Chair: Paul Bell, Ryder Architecture, UK
Panelists: Matthew Holmes, Jacobs, Australia; Diana C Anderson, VA Boston Healthcare System, USA; Jacobs, USA

Read more about the event HERE.

Panel Discussions

Caring for the City: 21st Century Health & Wellbeing

June 14, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for the Future of Health

Presentations

Event: London Festival of Architecture
Title: Caring for the City: 21st Century Health & Wellbeing
Date: June 14, 2021
Panelists: Nina Wollman, Jacobs, Marky Davy, Founder, FutureCity, Matthew Holmes, Jacobs, Cashfya Cazi, Jacobs, Emily Violette, Schneider Electric, Diana Anderson, Jacobs

Imagine a future where, together as designers, thinkers, innovators, citizens, caregivers, and care-receivers, we create and deliver solutions for health and wellbeing by transforming our engagement with each other. To truly integrate and optimize the built environment where we receive care, the clinical environment that provides care, the digital environment that wraps around the care we receive and the community environment that promotes our wellbeing.

In parallel to our ‘Connecting Through Gaming’ initiative, Jacobs is exploring the topic of ‘Caring for the City’, in this webinar Jacobs Nina Wollman will reflect with a panel of experts and thought leaders on how in a post-COVID world, we can provide better ‘care’ through our approach to the built environment?

How can we bring ‘care’ to the multiple environments that support and impact our physical, mental health and wellbeing. We all want to be surrounded by spaces that enable us to thrive and succeed in all aspects of our lives.

Read more about the event HERE.

Panel Discussions

AZURE Talks- Hospital(ity): New Directions in Healthcare Design

April 28, 2021 / Dochitect / Design for the Future of Health

Presentations

Event: AZURE talks, part of Architect@Work Canada Digital Summit
Date: April 28, 2021
Panelists: Siamak Hariri, founder Partner, Hariri Pontarini Architects; Diana Anderson, Principal, Jacobs; Chris McQuillan, Principal, B+H Architects

Big institutional hospitals tend to look and feel like big, institutional spaces. But there’s a lot more to healthcare design than meeting the terms of an RFP. How can designers imbue places of healing with a sense of warmth, tranquility and even wellness? And what stands in the way?

On April 28th at 12pm EST, AZURE will host a free online talk exploring the future of healthcare design. Titled Hospital(ity): New Directions in Healthcare Design, the conversation will explore the links between space and well-being delving into how architects can help nurture comfort and intimacy in healthcare settings.

Read more about the event HERE.

Panel Discussions

The Intersection Between Design & Wellness: Optimizing the Patient-Provider Experience

May 30, 2019 / Dochitect / Evidence-Based Design

Presentations

Event: Bisnow – National Healthcare New England
Title: The Intersection Between Design & Wellness: Optimizing the Patient-Provider Experience
Date: May 30, 2019

The Intersection Between Design & Wellness: Optimizing the Patient-Provider Experience
• Dr. Diana Anderson, Founder, Dochitect, Fellow, Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics
• David Grabowski, PhD, Professor of Health Care Policy, Department of Health Care Policy | Harvard Medical School
• John Means, Partner, McKinsey & Company
• David Storto, President, Partners Continuing Care & Spaulding Rehabilitation Network
Moderator: Mark Krejchi, Ph.D., Healthcare Industry Manager, Wilsonart

Designing for Patient Safety: Best Practices to Reduce Medical Errors

September 27, 2016 / Dochitect / Design for Patient Safety

In The News

Event: C3 US-Arab Business & Healthcare Summit
Location: Union League Club, New York, New York
Date: September 27, 2016

About: The C3 U.S.-Arab Healthcare Summit is an annual event with the goal of developing bilateral solutions to address global healthcare challenges.

Excerpt: National and regional quality and safety strategies regarding patient treatment, patient safety and costs include actions for building knowledge about quality problems and solutions, and actions for planning and implementing solutions at different levels of the health system in order to deliver effective healthcare services. These strategies must target the needs of the population at large, with emphasis on poor and marginalized (vulnerable) populations, which have poorer access to care. Effective quality and safety improvement is the result of many activities using systematic methods over a period of time. The development of tailored strategic plans and interventions plays an important role in creating conditions to stimulate and guide the various stakeholders to improve quality of performance and resource use.

Patient Safety Panel:
Designing for Patient Safety: Best Practices to Reduce Medical Errors
Dochitect participated in a panel discussion in order to speak about healthcare design as it relates to patient safety, infection control practices (for example sink design) and imagining the hospital of the future.

Can architecture affect our health?

Can we prevent disease using architecture?

“The architect is like the physician… he must simply see to it that what he does makes everyone feel better.” – Herman Hertzberger, Dutch Architect

Click here for more information on the agenda and overview of the speaking panel on patient safety.

Panel Discussions

What Will the ICU of the Future Look Like

December 11, 2014 / Dochitect / Design for Critical Care

Popular Press

Publication: Society of Critical Care Medicine, Critical Connections Newsletter
Date: December/January 2014, Volume 12, Number 6
Authors: Sandy Swoboda, RN, MS, FCCM; Diana C. Anderson, MD, March; D. Kirk Hamilton, FAIA, FACHA, EDAC; Charles D. Cadenhead, FAIA, FACHA, FCCM; Neil A. Halpern, MD, FCCM; Dan R. Thompson, MD, MA, FCCM
View Article

Demand for intensive care unit (ICU) beds is increasing as the nature of medical practice shifts to become more multi-professional and multidisciplinary. These trends likely will be reflected in both our critical care space design and working practices. Clinicians are spending more time at computers to complete documentation and more time discussing cases with the multi-professional team. Parallel to this shift toward healthcare provider teams is a growing awareness about the impact of evidence-based design principles on patient care and staff efficiency. The environment’s impact on the healing process, infection control practices and safety increasingly are studied in the context of a unit’s design and architectural layout. Hybrid professionals and interdisciplinary groups provide integrated solutions that cross disciplines in new ways.

In addition to assembling a task force to update the Guidelines for Critical Care Unit Design, members of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) ICU Design Committee are champions for change and healthcare improvement. In this article, this diverse group shares their thoughts on the ICU of the future.

Click here to read more from the SCCM ICU Design Committee members about what the ICU of the future will look like.

Additional Press:

Note Dr. Anderson’s viewpoints on this topic, entitled “View from the Dochitect: Reflections of a Physician-Architect on ICU Design,” are presented as part of a panel discussion on the future of ICU design at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s 43rd Annual Congress in San Francisco, CA; January 13, 2014.

Commentaries, Panel Discussions

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