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Emily Karbo, DNP, RN, EDAC, transitioned from a career in ICU nursing to healthcare design, using her clinical expertise to shape environments that improve patient care, staff workflow, and operational efficiency. Inspired by early experiences in hospice care and driven by a passion for human-centered design, she now blends compassion, collaboration, and innovation to make a lasting impact in the healthcare design community.
This reflective post explores the NIHD member Jamie Hammer’s internal “GO or NO GO” debate about returning to school later in life to pursue a DNP after a long nursing career. Drawing on decades of experience—from bedside care to healthcare design—Jamie shares how professional maturity made advanced education more focused and manageable, and offers practical advice for choosing the right DNP program. Ultimately, earning her doctorate brought renewed purpose, a deeper appreciation for research and data, and a reminder that it’s never too late to keep growing!
Advocacy is more than a moment—it’s a sustained commitment to showing up for others, for our communities, and for the future of healthcare design. When we ground our work in connection and shared responsibility, we create the conditions for meaningful, lasting change.
This season, we’re also elevating new voices and perspectives, including leaders like Grace Kistner, whose global health experience reminds us that advocacy thrives when mentorship, collaboration, and bold vision come together.
The built environment is not a passive backdrop to care delivery; it is an active participant in shaping how safely and effectively care is provided. While healthcare environments are designed with good intentions in mind, we cannot underestimate the profound influence that physical space has on human performance, clinical decision-making, and ultimately, patient safety.
To truly design for safety, we must understand the complex cognitive and operational realities clinicians navigate every day — especially in moments when time, space, and life converge.
NIHD is a proud Supporting Organization of the PDC Summit! Our members assist in the abstract review process, and we work together with ASHE to offer nursing continuing education for approved sessions. This activity has been submitted to Montana Nurses Association for approval to award contact hours. Learners can earn up to 9.0 contact hours of continuing nursing professional development by attending these sessions.
In healthcare design, we often talk about innovation - new models of care, new technologies, new environments. But innovation without legacy is fragile. In this blog, we invite you to reflect on your own legacy: what you are building, who you are lifting up, and how your work today shapes care tomorrow?
We are proud to spotlight members who are shaping the future of healthcare environments through innovation, leadership, and a passion for patient-centered care. This month, we’re excited to feature Roxanne Butler MSOD, RNC, Principal at Blue Cottage of CannonDesign and President-Elect of the NIHD Foundation for 2025.
This year, the Nursing Institute of Healthcare Design (NIHD) is leaning forward: into advocacy, into visibility, and into our shared responsibility as stewards of the environments where care is delivered, received, and lived. Across healthcare design, we are being called to act not only as experts, but as good neighbors within complex, global ecosystems by bringing energy, intention, and care to the places that shape human flourishing.
Too often, hospitals implement new health IT systems without involving nurses—the primary users—early enough in the process. Engaging nurses from the start turns them into active partners, ensuring the technology aligns with workflows, improves patient care, and avoids costly implementation issues. A nurse-centered roadmap that includes nurses in every phase—planning, design, testing, and post-launch—leads to smarter, more successful technology adoption.
In today’s complex healthcare environment, data and analytics are essential tools for effective facility planning and design. By leveraging evidence-based models and real-time patient data—such as emergency department volumes and surgical case trends—healthcare leaders can optimize space utilization, improve patient flow, and support staff efficiency. This data-driven approach ensures healthcare environments are adaptable, resilient, and centered on high-quality care delivery.
When you’re late to a meeting, leading with “I’m sorry” immediately puts you on the defensive, makes the moment about your mistake, and subtly drains your confidence. Instead, a better move is to thank people for their patience or jump straight into value-adding.
Nurses working in healthcare face growing clinical burdens, spending up to 40% of their shifts on indirect tasks like coordination and communication, contributing to burnout and turnover. Modern nurse call platforms such as Jeron’s Provider transform traditional call systems into intelligent workflow hubs by automating task routing, integrating with EHR and RTLS systems, and streamlining communication across departments.
By reducing non-clinical interruptions and improving response times, these systems free nurses to focus more on bedside care while improving operational efficiency and staff satisfaction.