Relationships between architectural design and healthcare for the under and uninsured are the focus of the Center for Health Systems & Design’s Spring 2012 Architecture-for-Health Lecture Series.
The semester-long program, “Delivering Health Care to the Under & Uninsured: Innovative Solutions & Architectural Designs,” is open to the public. The lectures began Jan. 18 with a keynote address by Marjorie Petty, Region 6 director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on the second floor of building A of Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M campus.
The remaining lectures, featuring distinguished members of the allied healthcare, design and building professions on issues related to improving healthcare and sustainable healthcare facilities design, are scheduled on Wednesdays at the same time and location.
“The number of under and uninsured patients in the United States is rising because of the economic downturn, high unemployment and the increasing costs of healthcare,” said George J. Mann, the Texas A&M architecture professor who coordinated the lecture series.
The guest lecturers, Mann said, will examine a number of issues relevant to the healthcare providers, facility designers and recipients, such as:
“What kind of facilities do we need to to efficiently, effectively and economically deliver accessible, affordable and quality health care to these patients?”
“Are architects sensitive to the medical and economic issues related to designing facilities that are appropriate?
Are the expensive health facilities we have been building the last 30 years a part of the solution or a part of the problem?”
Mann is holder of the Ronald L. Skaggs and Joseph G. Sprague Endowed Chair of Health Facilities Design in the Department of Architecture.
Throughout the series, healthcare industry leaders, experienced providers and health facility designers will discuss accomplishments and identify innovations needed to develop interdisciplinary, cost-effective solutions for patients who lack adequate health insurance.
Upcoming lectures, to be held 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays in the Wright Gallery, include:
Feb. 22 — “Healthcare Reform Changes the Way We Deliver Service to those Who Need Them the Most,” featuring Deborah Sweetland, vice president of the Clinical Solutions & Research Group at HKS Inc.
Feb. 29 — “The Value of Health,” with Charles J.J. Andrews, principal, and Rebekah Negrete, architect technician, both with Overland Partners Architects in San Antonio;
March 21 — “Center for Housing and Urban Development Health Care Initiatives in the Texas Colonias” — with Jorge Vanegas, dean of the College of Architecture and director of the center, and Oscar J. Munoz, deputy director;
March 28 — “Caring for Those in Need: A Case Study of the People’s Community Clinic, Austin, Texas,” featuring Richard Peavey, M.D., director of adult and internal medicine for People’s Community Clinic in Austin, and Phillip Steffy, architectural project coordinator fir HDR Inc. in Dallas;
April 4 — “Breaking Down Barriers and Building Access to Healthcare: Creating a Culturally Appropriate Environment,” with Paule Anne Lewis, executive director of the San Jose Clinic in Houston;
April 4 — “Native American Health Care: Where are We and How did We Get There?” featuring Shane Boren, intern architect, James R. Childers Architects Inc., Fort Smith, Arkansas;
April 11 — “What’s in a Shell?” with Judith T. Deyo, executive director, TOMAGAW HealthCare Ministries, headquartered in Tomball, Texas and serving the communities of Tomball, Magnolia & Waller;
April 18 — “Opportunities in Designing to Serve All,” with Sarah Meeker Jensen, president, and Frances Ridlehoover, managing partner, both with Jensen + Partners in Los Angeles, Calif.
The Spring 2012 Architecture-for-Health Lecture Series is presented by the Center for Health Systems & Design, Center for Housing and Urban Development, Department of Architecture and College of Architecture, in collaboration with the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health. The series is funded by a generous gift from former students Ronald L. Skaggs, chairman emeritus of HKS Inc. and Joseph G. Sprague, senior vice president and director of health facilities for HKS Inc.
A brochure with the complete lecture series schedule is available at http://archone.tamu.edu/archcom/PDFs/Arch-Health_Lectures_LowRes.pdf
