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!
Read MoreBe the Messenger
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.
Read MoreWhen Space and Seconds Collide.
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.
Read MoreDesigning a Legacy: An Act of Self-Advocacy
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?
Read MoreFrom Cribs to Campuses: Roxanne’s Path to Healthcare Design
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.
Read MoreAdvocacy Through Vision and Visibility: A Call to the Healthcare Design Community
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.
Read MoreEmpowered Clinical Support: The Importance of a Knowledge Path to Successful Technology Use.
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.
Read MoreLet’s talk about Leveraging Data and Analytics in Healthcare Facility Planning.
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.
Read MoreLate to a Meeting? Ditch the ‘Sorry.’
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.
Read MoreDesigning Together: Why Non-Nursing Professionals Belong in NIHD.
While NIHD is grounded in nursing expertise, it thrives through the contributions of non-nursing professionals as well. The blog highlights how NIHD’s strength lies in its diversity, showing that the best healthcare designs result from collaborative, cross-disciplinary efforts.
Read MoreNavigating Conference Season: How to Choose the Right One and Maximize Your Connections.
Fall marks the beginning of conference season—a time full of energy, connection, and opportunity. As calendars fill with industry events and professional gatherings, it’s the perfect chance to gain fresh insights and grow your network. Whether you're a seasoned attendee or new to the scene, a little preparation can help you make the most of this inspiring time.
Read MoreHealing, Redefined: A Cancer Survivor's Tribute to Nurses.
This blog recounts MacKenzie Weldon’s deeply personal journey after being diagnosed with stage 3B triple-negative breast cancer in October 2024. A long-time professional in the healthcare industry, MacKenzie found her understanding of healthcare profoundly reshaped. While the medical care was critical, it was the compassion, dedication, and humanity of the nurses that left the most lasting impact.
Read MoreOne “Big Beautiful” Design.
The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," passed in July 2025, marks a major shift in U.S. healthcare funding, cutting over $1 trillion from Medicaid over ten years and introducing stricter financing rules. These changes are expected to result in higher copays, the loss of coverage for nearly 12 million Americans by 2034, and significant financial strain on rural and safety-net hospitals, many of which may face closure. As healthcare systems adapt to reduced reimbursements, there will be a growing focus on return-on-investment, operational efficiency, and strategic planning—particularly in facility design and construction. While some projects with secure funding may proceed, others, especially in rural areas, could be delayed or canceled, with a broader shift toward renovations and outpatient-focused facilities expected.
Read MoreCreating Spaces That Care: Highlights from the AMFP's Houston Healthcare Summit
NIHD Member Nick Mengucci, MSN, RN-BC, LSSGB recently spoke on a panel at AMFP’s Houston Annual Healthcare Summit titled Creating a High-Quality Workplace Experience in Healthcare, highlighting how thoughtful design supports staff recruitment, retention, and performance. As the nurse voice on the panel, he represented both the profession and NIHD, emphasizing the need for environments that support caregivers as much as patients.
Read MoreWhat’s All the Chatter About?
At this year’s Healthcare Design Forum, keynote speaker Ethan Kross delivered a powerful message on the impact of our internal dialogue and how it shapes our behavior, confidence, and decision-making. His insights on managing self-talk—especially through small shifts like using our own name—offered practical tools for overcoming doubt and speaking up with clarity and conviction in professional settings.
Read MoreBridging Care and Design: Meg Yoho’s Journey from Bedside Nurse to Healthcare Systems Innovator
For the past three years, Meg Yoho, MSN, RN, ASQ CSSBB, has been a Senior Project Manager at Yellow Brick, Inc., bringing a wealth of experience in healthcare leadership, process improvement, and operational excellence. Before joining Yellow Brick, she spent over a decade at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) in key leadership roles, where she focused on optimizing systems and improving healthcare operations.
Read MoreViolence Against Hospital Staff: A Crisis in Care and How Technology Can Help.
Workplace violence in healthcare is escalating at an alarming rate, turning once-rare incidents into daily threats for frontline staff. This blog explores how a layered safety approach—anchored by advanced nurse call systems and supported by smart technology and training—can help protect caregivers and rebuild a culture of safety in hospitals.
Read MoreIt's Graduation Season - But Where Are the Nurses?
As we celebrate the graduation of our eldest daughter from high school and her trade school (cosmetology) program, I couldn't help but notice a significant disparity at her recent completion ceremony. There were considerably more graduates in programs like cosmetology and aesthetics compared to medical assistant and nursing programs, with a ratio of approximately 4:1.
Read MoreBeyond the Job: How Professional Involvement Shapes Your Leadership, Career, and Community
There are a lot of reasons people serve on boards. If it’s a non-profit like NIHD, board positions are uncompensated, but Kris Krail, NIHD Past President, shares that is not to say there aren’t significant intrinsic benefits.
Read MoreMore Than Pizza: Celebrating #ThePowerOfNurses with the Gift of Respite.
As we kick off Nurses Week, NIHD President Kevin Meek remembers back to his days as a Clinical Director and Chief Nursing Officer when he would talk to teams and ask them as we were getting ready to celebrate them during Nurses Week of what they would like to receive. Inevitably, and sadly, there was always one answer that came up: “Anything but pizza!”
Read More