The 2026 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo, scheduled for Oct. 17-20 in New Orleans, features its largest exhibit hall to date, with more than 265 companies represented on the show floor.
This year’s exhibit hall also houses the Solutions Theater, which hosts short, focused presentations with exhibitors and industry partners highlighting emerging tools and approaches to industry challenges.
Sessions are scheduled during the Welcome Reception, from 4:30-7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18, and during exhibit hall hours on Monday, Oct. 19 (10 a.m.-3 p.m.), and Tuesday, Oct. 20 (9:45 a.m.-1 p.m.).
Topics range from new approaches to respite spaces for staff to optimizing surgical care environments for safety and comfort. The Solutions Theater sessions are sponsored by Construction Specialties, Association of Medical Facilities Professionals (AMFP), Haworth, Steris, Tarkett, Kimball, and Vinyl Institute.
Check out the schedule below. For more information on the HCD Conference + Expo and to register, visit hcdexpo.com.
Solutions Theater schedule
Sunday, Oct. 18
ST01 – Installing with Confidence Day 1 – Classic Installation of Acrovyn Sheet and Trims
4:45-5:15 p.m. Sponsored by Construction Specialties
Speakers: Patricia Hershey, senior product specialist, Construction Specialties; Gwynneth Montis, product specialist, Construction Specialties
Attendees will learn how to install Acrovyn Sheet and Trims using proven installation techniques and best practices. This session will cover key steps, common challenges, and tips for achieving a professional, long-lasting finish.
ST03 – Beyond the Respite Room: Caring for Caregivers as a Community
6:30-7 p.m. Sponsored by Haworth
Speakers: Donna Gaffney, psychotherapist, clinical nurse specialist, and author; Rod Vickroy, lead vertical market strategist, Haworth; Brittany Wells, director of healthcare, Patcraft
This session will draw on emerging research and leading-edge thinking to explore how meaningful work can flourish when caregivers are supported in community. Participants will examine dignified respite space as a necessary foundation—and then look beyond it to the relational infrastructure of care: the spatial conditions that make informal check-ins, shared recovery, mutual recognition, and timely help more possible.
Monday, Oct. 19
ST04 – Creating an Ecosystem of Safety for the Surgical Care Environment
10:15-10:45 a.m. Sponsored by Steris
Speaker: David Horn, director, corporate project development, Steris
This session will explore the many elements of the surgical environment that must be optimized to deliver safe patient care and create a safe place of employment. These factors include air quality, equipment, and room layout.
ST05 – Scratch That: Rethinking Healthcare Flooring for Performance, Safety & Sustainability
11-11:30 a.m. Sponsored by Tarkett
Speakers: Shari Solomon, president, CleanHealth Environmental; Jane Rohde, principal and founder, JSR Associates, Inc. and board chair, Live Together, Inc.; Meghan McBride, vice president, strategic accounts, Tarkett
In this session, panelists will answer the question: What if the most important thing about a scratch on a healthcare floor isn’t what you see, but what you can’t? By challenging the traditional “replace when worn” mindset, this fast-paced session will examine what durability really means in practice and connect the dots between surface integrity, infection prevention, life-cycle and sustainability.
ST06 – Within Reach: Reinventing the Postpartum Bassinet for the Mother-Baby Couplet
11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sponsored by AMFP
Speakers: Stacie McEntyre, CEO, Couplet Care, Inc.; Sara Tyson Hobgood, Novant Health
Conventional hospital bassinets can leave recovering mothers dependent on someone else to bring their newborn within reach. This session explores how an evidence-based, co-designed bassinet can enable mothers to access their babies from bed, supporting bonding, breastfeeding, recovery, and a more equitable postpartum experience.
ST07 – Installing with Confidence Day 2 – Time saving solutions with Roll-On Adhesive,
12:45-1:45 p.m. Sponsored by Construction Specialties
Speakers: Patricia Hershey, senior product specialist, Construction Specialties; Gwynneth Montis, product specialist, Construction Specialties
In this session, attendees will learn how roll-on adhesive can simplify Acrovyn installations while saving time and improving efficiency. The session will cover proper application techniques, best practices, and tips for delivering successful project outcomes.
ST08 – Designing Without Friction
1:30-2 p.m. Sponsored by Kimball International
Speaker: Jill Frazier, director of design solutions and digital tools, Kimball International
Healthcare designers have become experts at overcoming obstacles, but should they have to be? From product information and specifications to visualization and technology workflows, friction has quietly become an accepted part of the design process. This session challenges that assumption and explores how reducing complexity can unlock more time for creativity, innovation, and designing environments that support better healthcare outcomes.
Tuesday, Oct. 20
ST09 – Installing with Confidence Day 3 – Styx and Acrovyn Quick Lock Wall Protection
10-10:30 a.m. Sponsored by Construction Specialties
Speakers: Patricia Hershey, senior product specialist, Construction Specialties; Gwynneth Montis, product specialist, Construction Specialties
In this session, attendees will learn how to install STYX and Acrovyn with confidence using the Acrovyn Quick Lock installation method. This session will demonstrate best practices, time-saving tips, and key installation steps to help ensure a successful project outcome.
ST10 – Ten Golden Takeaways from Health System Execs
10:45-11:30 a.m. Sponsored by AMFP
Speakers: Jacobie Ricard, assistant vice president, RWJBarnabas Health, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; Curtis Skolnick, system director, real estate strategy-portfolio healthcare planning, CommonSpirit Health; Abigail Lipperman, director of planning, design and construction, Children’s Health; Yoshihisa Hirayama, International Federation of Healthcare Engineering (IFHE) executive committee member, CEO of PS Company; Mike Wood, senior vice president, strategic initiatives, SMPT Group
This session will bring together four healthcare provider leaders, who are speakers at this year’s HCD conference and the colocated IFHE World Congress, to share their takeaways.
ST11 – Modern Vinyl in Healthcare
Noon-12:30 p.m. Sponsored by Vinyl Institute
Speakers: Jane Rohde, principal, founder, JSR Associates, Live Together, Inc.; Jay Thomas, executive director, Vinyl Sustainability Council
This session examines the evolving role of vinyl in healthcare design, highlighting how responsible manufacturing practices, infection-control performance, and sustainability initiatives can help support healthier, more resilient healthcare environments.
More conference highlights
In addition to the Solutions Theater sessions, the conference will include more than 100 educational sessions, preconference facility tours, keynote presentations, and networking events.
For a preview of new products and services debuting on the show floor, go here.
For more information on the conference and to register, go here.
