The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association, developed its “Guiding Principles for Building the Hospital for the Next Generation” to stress that operations and facility design must be mutually supportive when designing and building hospitals, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management website.
When nurses and designers work together, “you end up with just such a better product,” Pamela Thompson, CEO of the AONE, said.
The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design (NIHD) also promotes the integration of clinical expertise into the design of healthcare environments.
NIHD recently published, Nurses as Leaders in Healthcare Design: A Resource for Nurses and Interprofessional Partners. “We advocate that from the beginning [of a design project] you’ve got to have the right people in the room,” said NIHD president Susan Silverman.