New in 2024, the 2024 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo, Oct. 5-8 in Indianapolis, is offering session tracks that are searchable by level (general, foundational, and master class) as well as by track (behavioral health, research sustainability, clinical perspectives, etc.), to help attendees tailor their conference experience.

A selection of 11 Master Class sessions will offer advanced-level insights into topics ranging from evolving care models for behavioral health and emergency departments (EDs) to decarbonization building strategies.

Here’s a preview of some of this year’s Master Class sessions; for the full conference lineup, go here.

 

E01 – Crisis Care Continuum: Evolving Behavioral Emergency & Crisis Care Models

Sunday, Oct. 6, 9:45-10:45 a.m.

Speakers: Scott Zeller, vice president of acute psychiatry, Vituity; Stephen Parker, architect, behavioral health planner, Stantec; Jon Sell, behavioral health practice co-lead, Stantec

In this session, speakers will discuss how new and emerging crisis care models are influencing the holistic design of behavioral health facilities. Example will include the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital’s psychiatric emergency department in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, which utilizes the EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatry Assessment, Treatment, and Healing) model, and Connections Kirkland, a crisis response center in Kirkland, Wash., which serves as a standalone stabilization unit.

In addition to exploring these care models, the speakers will identify the role of design in crisis stabilization and addressing community mental health; apply emerging guidelines and regulations driving the design and construction of psychiatric crisis care centers; and discuss clinical implications of design decisions and how they inform care culture with specific project case studies.

 

E04 – Adaptive Reuse on the Clock: The 20 Seconds That Made a Two-Story ED

Sunday, Oct. 6, 9:45-10:45 a.m.

Speakers: Andy Lane, senior vice president, CannonDesign; Dan Schmidt, vice president, Cannon Design

This session will delve into a case study in adaptive reuse design in an urgent care setting. Speakers will share the unique challenges and creative solutions that enabled the modernization of an ED in rural Wisconsin.

The key to this project was creating a two-story ED that necessitated adding patient transport elevators—a 20-second elevator ride with significant benefits (shortened construction schedule, reduced costs, minimized operations, and patient disruptions).

Speakers will identify strategic drivers that informed this operational model; describe the implications and potential safety concerns of a split-level ED; and highlight the innovative solutions required to implement this solution (for example, having sanitary waste flow up not down).

 

E15 – Moving the Dial on Hospital Decarbonization: Exploring International Strategies

Sunday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m.-noon

Speaker: Gary Hamilton, senior vice president, growth leader, Introba

This presentation will offer a deep dive into the data behind global decarbonization efforts in the healthcare design industry—including insights into opportunities and constraints, from varied local regulations and economic conditions to industrial capabilities and environmental factors.

Real-world examples and tools for navigating the complex decarbonization landscape will be discussed as well. Attendees will gain insights into how to measure carbon emissions, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability; and explore strategies and technologies for transforming hospitals into net-zero carbon facilities.

 

E34 – Standalone Statements: Designing the Next Generation of Freestanding Emergency Departments

Sunday, Oct. 6, 3:15-4:15 p.m.

Speakers: Tim Spence, CEO, BSA LifeStructures; Carolyn Knaup, senior vice president, strategic ventures and ambulatory operations, WakeMed Health & Hospitals; Maureen Leckie, associate vice president, ambulatory operations, Lakeland Regional Health

In this panel discussion, ambulatory operations experts from two health systems and the CEO of a national architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning firm examine the reinvigorated phenomenon of freestanding emergency departments (Eds). The speakers will discuss key design and planning considerations, operational intricacies, the human experience within these facilities, and the distinctive role freestanding EDs play in ambulatory care.

Additionally, behind-the-scenes insights will be offered into research and prototyping processes for two systems that have expanded their footprints in freestanding ED.

Attendees will gain insight into how these facilities redefine healthcare infrastructure and community access to health, contributing to a more responsive, safe, and resilient healthcare system.

 

E99 – Futurism, Human Factors, and Design: The Trinity Redefining Healthcare

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Speakers: Rubin Pillay, professor of medicine, assistant dean, executive director, chief innovation officer, medical futurist, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Kurt Neubek, principal, healthcare director, Page

This presentation explores the synergistic integration of futurism and design in redefining hospitals, creating environments that promote healing, efficiency, and patient-centered care. Futurism in healthcare brings forth the promise of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and telemedicine, fundamentally altering how healthcare services are delivered and experienced.

Human factors, which optimize the relationship between people and systems, are critical in designing healthcare environments that are intuitive, safe, and conducive to the well-being of both patients and healthcare providers. Design, when integrated with futurism and human factors, transcends aesthetics to encompass the creation of holistic healthcare spaces.

Attendees will gain insights into strategies and best practices for implementing this trinity in hospital planning and development, with the goal of creating healthcare facilities equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Find updates and additional information on the 2024 HCD Conference + Expo here.