Healthcare Design Conference + Expo is the industry’s ultimate networking, education, and product-sourcing event. Learn about the latest research and strategies in healthcare design, and discover innovative products that support the thoughtful design of hospital and clinic environments. Leave with new connections, new ideas for current and future projects, and earn AIA, IDCEC, EDAC, and nursing LUs to meet your continuing education goals. Learn more about attending >>

Join ACHA at HCD!

Certification Prep @ HCD

Date: Sunday, November 5, 2023
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Central
Location: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA

2023 Annual Meeting & Certificate Holder Luncheon

Date: Monday, November 6, 2023
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Central
Location: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA

Join ACHA for a panel discussion featuring Bhargav Goswami, AIA, ACHA, MBA, Director of Facilities Planning Services at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Sunil Shah, Vice President, NFS Facilities Strategy Planning + Design, Kaiser Permanente.

This subject, “Shifts in Sites of Care,” addresses how the recent three years have accelerated work-place and work-life change across regions and industries. Healthcare has been no exception. Many of our country’s care practices have deep roots and traditions in proactive patient care.

Date: Thursday, September 28
Time: 4pm Eastern

Learn more and register here

Wednesday, May 24
3:00 – 4:00 PM CDT

Catch up with colleagues from across the country for a College update and to discuss the VA Task Force 2023 Report.

ACHA partnered with the Veterans Administration Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) Department to improve healthcare delivery to veterans via a yearlong Task Force. The Task Force recommendations included new healthcare paradigms to improve Veteran access to care and create an equitable system of care. Hear from some of the Task Force members during this Town Hall discussion.

Click here to register.

Save the date for the Summer Leadership Summit

July 21-23 | Chicago | Westin Michigan Avenue 
Re-Writing the Playbook for Transforming the Crisis in Healthcare

The current healthcare crisis remains in peril due to caregiver shortages and medical facilities consistently being overwhelmed as they attempt to provide universal high-quality patient care. As a result, patients search for other means to meet their medical needs. Institutions compete with one another, causing insurance rates to increase and countless hospital closures, especially in rural communities. How can our industry revamp the playbook to ensure better healthcare outcomes?

The Summer Leadership Summit (SLS) is co-organized by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health and the American College of Healthcare Architects.

Thanks to our sponsors: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), and Modular Services Company.

Learn more here

ACHA partnered with the Veterans Administration Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) Department to improve healthcare delivery to veterans via a yearlong Task Force, composed of six ACHA certificants and VA representatives . The ACHA Task Force recommendations included new healthcare paradigms to improve Veteran access to care and create an equitable system of care. The Task Force proposed a tiered, four-dimensional hub + spoke model that adapts to the veteran’s needs, utilizing high tech/high touch technology to deliver personalized health care services nationwide. The resulting Rapid Deployment Health Utility Base (RD-HUB) is a new strategy for bringing primary care to Veterans in rural and urban areas. The program centers around virtual and mobile technology, providing additional healthcare options for veterans and reducing the real estate footprint of secondary VA facilities.

Read the full report here.

*Please note: some versions of Google Chrome may not display this report properly.

​The American College of Healthcare Architects has announced the election of Clyde “Ted” Moore III, AIA, ACHA, LEED BD+C of Haskell as the 2023 President of the Board of Regents.  Steve assumes this role as of January 1, 2023 and succeeds 2022 President Steve Templet, AIA, ACHA,. Ann Adams, AIA, ACHA of Davis Partnership has been named 2023 President-Elect of the Board of Regents. In addition, Tracy Leigh Bond, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP, and Ryan Turner, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, have joined the Board of Regents.

The College is pleased to announce the newest certificants. You can read more about the Class of 2022 here.

With a “return to normalcy” for many of us, 2022 has been a year full of activity and accomplishment – the ACHA Board have built on last year’s strategic discussions to push forward many new initiatives.  As we questioned and studied in 2021 how to best serve our certificants, clients and communities, several one and two-year goals were set this year intended to maximize the effect and growth of the ACHA through targeted actions and accomplishments. 

I would like to start with a heartfelt thank you to the many certificants who give their time and energy to the College in committees and task forces for the following efforts.  The amount of time and energy given to the College is always a wonderful testament to the passion of our certificants. 

• Recruitment  – Development of a dedicated Task Force focused on increasing awareness of the College within the pool of prospective candidates.  This year has seen the largest number of successful exam-takers in the College’s 22 years and a growing Candidates Program.  This would have been impossible without a focused outreach to potential candidates.  The Recruitment Task Force has identified more strategies to connect the College with future applicants that will be developed in 2023 and beyond. 
• Marketing – Significant and successful increases in social media exposure for the College and our certificants via a marketing consultant and dedicated marketing focus. 
• What We Believe In Task Force – Following last year’s strategic discussions, the development of effective, succinct statements for the ACHA including ongoing discussions regarding a new Tagline. 
• New Pitch Deck - Creation of a new marketing tool for certificants to use in potential client, firm and candidate discussions. 
• Application and Exam Prep Videos – Creating newly updated prep materials for candidates for their use with short online-available videos.
• 2022 Survey – Following up the 2015 Survey of our certificants, this update has provided us internal statistics and benchmarks to guide us moving forward with future candidate engagement, our EDI directives, and providing marketing materials for certificants and the College.  
• ACHA Innovation for Healthcare Design Prize – Preliminary discussions on how to enhance and grow our role within our communities and within healthcare design with legacy efforts. Targeted for a 2024 Call for Entries. 
• Continuation of the Masters Series 2.0 – Led by ACHA thought leaders providing focused knowledge regarding topics at the forefront of our industry.
• Yearly ACHA Calendar – Exploring calendar year changes for 2024 to more efficiently schedule events and programs.    
• External Organizations – moving forward with both current and new allied organizations with mutually beneficial activities that serve to increase our role as thought leaders.  This includes development of our ASHE relationship, our burgeoning relationship with VA leadership and the expansion the Pillars with the addition of the Center for Health Design and the Nursing Institute of Healthcare Design. 

The College and our certifications are unique, both here within the national healthcare design industry and across the world.  And more than ever we are called to serve as advocates and outspoken leaders working towards environments that support health and wellness.  My sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone involved in making this such as successful and productive year for the College.    

Steve Templet, AIA, ACHA
2022 ACHA President