Join architect and mental & behavioral health planner Stephen Parker as we explore trauma-informed design, crisis center planning, and policy that supports mental health across generations. Stephen offers insights on peer support integration, reimbursement strategies, and the cultural influences shaping responsive spaces. Whether you're a planner, provider, or policy advocate, this conversation reveals how thoughtful architecture can create orientation in patient journey, foster community healing, and inspire the next generation of designers.

Two-step into the heart of Texas with Jessica Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Senior Executive Director of Clinical Facilities at University of Texas Health San Antonio, as she shares how her journey as a mother to a child with congenital heart disease shapes her bold vision for healthcare spaces. In this episode of Designing Care On-Air, Jessica opens up about balancing cutting-edge design with deeply human experiences by crafting environments that heal, connect, and transform care for patients and their families.

Christina Olivarria and Jhiah Chang unpack the high-pressure work of orchestrating over 100 projects in just 18 months on a busy academic medical center campus. They’ll reveal the pitfalls that nearly derailed progress, how staff-centric strategies turned resistance into collaboration, and the creative space modifications (yes, even furniture hacks) that kept care flowing while construction loomed. If you think enabling projects are just a logistical checkbox, think again. Learn how thoughtful planning, staff-focused strategies, and streamlined communication can turn logistical hurdles into opportunities for innovation.

With a catchment area spanning all of Vermont and northern New York, the University of Vermont Cancer Center is a success story in high impact, quality care across research, education, and clinical pillars of their mission. Drs. Jessica Heath and Christa Varnadoe share their complementary perspectives on the renown organizational responsiveness to community-identified needs – including cutting-edge therapies – across a cultural duality of rural and micropolitan populations.

Renown Health's Samantha Koblitz reflects on the importance of trusted partners during shifts in design approach and decision-making with Interface's Leslie Echols and Perkins&Will's Nicki Hellem and Holly Ewing. By giving users and leadership hands-on participatory roles in flooring selection, Renown Health was afforded deeper insights into their culture while promoting creativity in their steadfast commitment to the communities they serve.

Dr. Richard Kyte, Director of the D. B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership and Endowed Professor of Ethics at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, approaches the concept of ‘Third Place’ from the lenses of leadership and ethics.

As the expert coordinators of a successful surgery, the circulating nurse role is one of the most pivotal to include in operating room design. Shilpa Bhardwaj shares her doctoral research centering and her insights on inclusivity, representation, and advocacy during the design process of high-stress environments.

Francis encourages designers to consider relationship over form as we enmesh evidence and lived experience to design spaces for mental health that promote connection, contemplation, and skillbuilding.