2020 Rising Star: Angela KoloskyAIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, associate principal, DesignGroup (Columbus, Ohio)

Angela Kolosky’s own chronic illness led her to myriad hospitals and infusion centers in the U.S. and abroad, but it wasn’t until she received her Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University in 2012 and a Master of Science in Building Performance and Diagnostics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2014 that she found healthcare design. In fact, she wrote her master’s thesis on “The Importance of Design Decisions on Patient and Staff Outcomes in Ambulatory Infusion Centers.” Her passion and determination to join the industry was so strong that upon graduating and being unable to find work in healthcare design, she joined the local AIA Healthcare Committee to stay connected to the industry—a move that eventually landed her a job at DesignGroup in 2017.

As a healthcare planner, she’s served as client lead on multiple projects and, this past fall, was one of six to be promoted to associate principal. Among her recent work is serving as a planner on a phased renovation at Morris Hospital in Morris, Ill., that included redesigning the emergency department to focus on more staff-patient interactions by utilizing open staff stations, implementing rapid care for low-acuity patients, and increasing room density. The project’s forward-thinking adoption of two new isolation rooms, designed for nuclear or chemical contamination patients, has proved useful during the COVID-19 pandemic by serving as testing space for patients.

Now, as healthcare planner for an in-progress surgery department expansion at Wyandot Memorial Hospital in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Kolosky implemented one-way flows for materials using a clean core concept and created universal prep/recovery rooms. While delivering forward-thinking solutions for community hospitals, Kolosky stays connected with healthcare design veterans, regularly attending industry events and conferences—efforts that are sure to further support her dedication and passion.