TRUMBULL, Conn. — The 23rd Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo (HFSE) celebrated yet another successful showing at its annual conference, held September 14 – 16, 2010 at Chicago’s famed Navy Pier. HFSE saw more than 2,700 registrants and nearly 200 exhibitors, an 11 percent increase over last year, gather in Chicago. The participants, including healthcare owners, architects, designers, engineers and facility managers, spent three days at HFSE exploring industry issues and trends concerning healthcare facility design, patient care through case studies, round table discussion sessions, interactive exhibits and more.
The conference featured more than 70 informational sessions presented by first-rate industry experts, with session topics ranging from healthcare finance and medical homes, to building a hospital in the United Arab Emirates and learning the essential elements for healthcare design.
One of the show highlights was an inspirational keynote by Rick Hansen, best known as the Man in Motion. Rick made history in 1985 by propelling his wheelchair through 34 countries on four continents, for nearly 25,000 miles, during the Man in Motion World Tour. His tour not only raised awareness of the potential of people with disabilities, but also raised $26 million for spinal cord injury (SCI) research. Rick’s story and mantra “anything is possible” inspired change in attendees’ personal and professional lives and his presentation resulted in a standing ovation. This year’s raffle at the Symposium Party raised nearly $11,162, a record breaking amount that benefited the Rick Hansen Foundation which works to find a cure for spinal cord injuries and improve the quality of life for those with SCI and related disabilities.
Also featured at the event was the debut of The Care Studio ProjectTM, an interactive experience designed by the LongWave GroupTM to address the unsustainable model of healthcare by integrating advances in care concepts, built environment and technology. HFSE partnered with the LongWave Group in a keynote presentation, workshop and The Care Studio Project to increase awareness of the urgent problems that need to be addressed in today’s healthcare delivery model.
HFSE also proudly announced the recipient of “A Place to Flourish: The ‘Generative Space’ Health Improvement Award” co-sponsored by The Caritas Project and Medical Construction & Design Magazine. The Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center, Cancer Institute, which was designed by Payette, accepted the award. This annual international award will recognize and promote healthcare provider organizations that are cultivating ‘generative space’ with the intentional design of their environments to make both systemic and sustainable improvements to whole-community health.
The annual 2010 Symposium Distinction Awards sponsored by FacilityCaremagazine were also announced in a presentation on Tuesday, September 14. For the first time, HFSE had an Award Winners Gallery on display, so attendees could learn about the winners between sessions. The highly esteemed competition honored design teams and individuals who have made a profound contribution to the healthcare design industry, and recognizes the best and most innovative new products exhibited at HFSE. This year’s winners included:
PRODUCT AWARDS
Architect’s Choice, Most Innovative& Best in Show – CoreSTOR Patient Server by Spacesaver Corporation
Most Sustainable – Urban Nature Collection,Powerbond Hybrid Resilient Construction by Tandus Flooring
DESIGN AWARDS
Team Award – HKS Inc., Presbyterian Hospital Flower Mound
User-Centered Award – Perkins Eastman, Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and the MSKCC Imaging
Individual Award – Joseph Sprague, Principal/Director Health Facilities of HKS, Inc
