Developing an evidence-based design assessment and certification program for hospital design professionals

As hospitals experience a major building boom--with more than $200 billion expected to be spent on new hospitals in the next decade--we know enough about the science of hospital design to make future hospitals safer, quieter, less stressful, and truly healing environments. The result is that most health care organizations that are building new projects are now asking for evidence-based design in their requests for proposals; however, there are currently no standards to qualify an evidence-based design practitioner or project. This grant provides support for planning and development activities for a credentialing program for hospital design. The Center for Health Design will establish a task force to define and identify the components--care model, physical environment, people, and systems--that affect an environment of care, and to establish and test standards to assess and certify evidence-based design professionals who use evidence-based design practices to support these components. The key project deliverable will be a report describing the task force's agreed-upon process for defining the appropriate environment for care, along with certification testing materials such as an application, guidelines, and sample accreditation exam. The project fits squarely within the Foundation's Nursing Team's strategy to improve the physical design of hospitals.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $173,500.00

Awarded on: 8/11/2005

Time frame: 8/15/2005 - 12/31/2007

Grant Number: 53774