Anne DiNardo

One thing is certain: Today’s architecture and design students are inspired and ready to bring new ideas and changes to the industry. Healthcare Design spoke with students at leading universities to find out what put them on their career path and what challenges and solutions they’ve already got up their sleeves. Here, we share profiles of these student.

Cancer treatment at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus can take patients on a fragmented journey—from its main four-story Taussig Cancer Institute, to the Gamma Knife Center three blocks away, to radiation oncology in yet another building, and then across campus for surgery services. The splintered set-up also spreads out clinicians, care teams, and support services, making it difficult to deliver a team-based approach.

Jessica Welch’s college path was anything but clear. Having grown up in a family of doctors, she thought she’d follow them into the medical field. But when she started her studies, she didn’t enjoy the classes as much as she thought she would. She decided to change course and pursue a love for art instead by earning a degree in fine arts with a minor in architecture. For her next step, she wanted to “make a difference”—and considered joining organizations such as Teach for America and the Peace Corps before she started looking into graduate schools.

The evolution toward less institutionalized behavioral healthcare environments is also influencing the design of care spaces dedicated to younger populations. For starters, gone are the days when parents were locked out of a facility and permitted to see their child for only 20 minutes a day. Instead, today’s adolescent and children’s mental hospitals are welcoming parents in—and inviting them to stay.