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.
Healthcare design does not happen in isolation. It is deeply relational, shaped by culture, geography, resources, and lived experience. NIHD’s theme this year centers on granting permission. Permission for all who contribute to healthcare design to be seen, heard, and valued, including nurses and design allies working at the ‘edges and fringes,’ as one Montanan described it during a community forum. Innovation often emerges first in these unseen or under-engaged spaces: in rural settings, safety-net systems, community-based care, and hybrid roles that bridge practice, research, education, and industry. This year, we are intentionally widening the circle.
Advocacy through vision and visibility means showing up collectively and consistently as a force for design that advances dignity, equity, and belonging. It means lifting voices that have been underrepresented and translating insight into action. NIHD will extend this commitment through new voices on the Designing Care On‑Air podcast, expanded workshops at the PDC Summit and Healthcare Design + Expo, and strengthened partnerships with organizations such as Sigma Theta Tau and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL). Together, we will deliver accessible education and training to nurses of all roles and readiness across the globe, meeting learners where they are and when they need it.
This year also marks a renewed emphasis on academic-healthcare system-industry translational collaboration. By joining forces across sectors, we can accelerate research, deepen stakeholder discovery, and advance the development of innovations that respond to the evolving needs of patients and staff, no matter the resource level. Design excellence must be adaptable, scalable, and grounded in real-world care delivery. Our collective expertise is strongest when it is shared.
If you have been considering joining NIHD, this is your year to say “yes.” Yes to a bold step forward. Yes to contributing your perspective, your questions, and your creativity. There are opportunities abound across NIHD committees, task forces, speaking engagements, blogs, design charrettes, advisory roles, and more. Whether you are early in your journey or carrying decades of experience, your voice belongs here.
Thank you for lending your voice and energy to this community and for advancing healthcare design through advocacy, action, and accountability. I look forward to a year marked by bold advocacy, meaningful collaboration, and steady progress as we lead with clarity, conviction, and purpose.
