Financial uncertainty continues to be the number one driver when it comes to the planning and design of healthcare projects. Last season, we focused on how to address uncertainty when a project is already underway. This season, we’re looking at how organizations can tackle this issue before a project begins—through facility master plans, evaluating real estate, operational change and flexible design. To discuss, we’re joined by Cindy Hecker, CEO of the University of Washington Medical Center and NBBJ’s Joan Saba. We’ll talk about the factors contributing to an unpredictable healthcare market, and how healthcare systems navigate financial uncertainty.

The healthcare industry is no stranger to technology. As we advance toward a digital future, wearable devices, AI, new imaging technologies, and advancements in telehealth and home healthcare are changing the way we design healthcare environments. Further, disruptors such as Amazon, Walmart and others are entering the game, further altering the healthcare landscape.

On this episode, we're joined by Dr. Paul Barach, MD, a pioneering physician and digital health specialist who helps hospitals integrate smart technology into their practices; Yun-Hee Kim, technology editor for corporate and personal technology at the Washington Post; and NBBJ's Ryan Hullinger, to discuss how technology in healthcare is impacting the way care is provided as well as the design of hospitals and clinics.

Covid-19 is the most significant global health event to take place in our lifetime. While the emergency and public health declarations officially expired in 2023, healthcare organizations still contend with the pandemic’s fallout: seasonal spikes in transmission, financial pressures and staffing shortages. What’s more, large pandemics are statistically more likely to occur than we once thought.

But there is a hopeful path forward—lessons learned since 2020 inform how to better design hospitals to respond to future pandemics, with an increased focus on infection control, flexibility, adaptability, and resources to protect caregivers’ mental health. 

On this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Adrian Cotton, MD, Chief of Medical Operations at Loma Linda University Medical Center; Dr. Michael Phillips, MD, Chief Hospital Epidemiologist and Associate Director for Clinical Services for the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at NYU Langone Health; and NBBJ’s Bryan Langlands. We’ll talk about their experiences during the pandemic—both personal and professional, lessons learned and how to better plan for the future.

It could be a loved one, a coworker, an acquaintance, or maybe even you. Whether directly or indirectly, we’re all touched by the behavioral health epidemic. Fortunately, new treatment approaches that decrease stigma, coupled with a growing realization that buildings themselves can be part of the healing process, are paving the way for what a new model of adult mental health treatment can look like.

On this episode, we speak with Dr. Mark Rapaport, CEO of the University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute; and Rosalie Zoll, Director of Planning at Be Well OC. We’ll discuss the current behavioral health landscape for adults, the effect of the pandemic, promising new models of treatment and design principles for the next generation of healing, therapeutic facilities.

Hospitals and healthcare buildings are some of the most resource-intensive on the planet. On average, they use twice the energy of most other building types. Luckily, energy-efficient design strategies paired with legislation regulating carbon emissions are helping hospitals lower their energy use, without compromising patient care or experience. On this episode, we're joined by Dr. Jonathan Slutzman, MD, Medical Director for Environmental Sustainability at Massachusetts General Hospital, and NBBJ's Tom Sieniewicz. We’ll discuss net zero and electric hospitals, advancements in sustainability for large medical centers, and strategies for hospitals to lower their energy use and achieve groundbreaking performance.

Uplift is an interview-style podcast from architecture and design firm NBBJ about the transformative power of design. Hosted by Daphne Corona and Andy Snyder, our second season explores critical issues in the healthcare industry and how design can help create healing, high-performing healthcare environments. On each episode, we’ll engage with executives, physicians, journalists and experts on topics from net zero hospitals, to preparing for the next pandemic, to how technology is impacting the healthcare industry.

On this episode, we're joined by Jeff Schroder, Assistant Vice President of Planning, Design and Construction at Atrium Health, and Ed Trotter, Senior Project Manager, Design & Construction at Oregon Health and Science University to discuss strategies to reduce costs in healthcare construction.

On this episode, we're joined by Antwanette Lyons, Community Health Advocacy Manager at the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic in Seattle, WA, and Foxy Davison, a member of the Odessa Brown community. We'll discuss the widening gap in health outcomes between underrepresented communities and more affluent populations, seek to better understand the causes of health inequity, and dive into solutions for programs and healthcare spaces that address social determinants of health.

On this episode, we're joined by Karen Grimley, Chief Nursing Executive at UCLA Health in Los Angeles, CA, and Dr. Steven Bird, Chief Experience Officer at UMass Memorial Healthcare in Worcester, MA, as well as NBBJ's Teri Oelrich, who is also a nurse. We discuss the causes of burnout among healthcare workers, its impact, and how buildings can be designed to better focus on caregiver well-being.

On this episode, we're joined by Dianna Jacob, Chief Operating Officer, and Dan Collins, Facility Manager, at NYC Health + Hospitals' South Brooklyn Health—one of the hardest-hit areas during Superstorm Sandy—to discuss how resiliency informs the design of new healthcare facilities. We'll also talk about the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital in South Brooklyn, which is part of a major hospital campus renovation funded by FEMA to repair buildings flooded by Sandy.