New Healthcare Principal Welcomed to HGA’s Washington, D.C. Office

Shary Adams, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C, joins HGA as associate vice president and principal in Washington, D.C. Adams will lead integrated team processes and client relations in the Healthcare practice serving major healthcare organizations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Adams has more than 30 years of architecture experience specializing in healthcare planning and design. Throughout her career, she has partnered with clinicians, administrators, patients and community members to gather in-depth industry knowledge and plan design solutions that promote exceptional patient care.

One of her focuses is in the continuum of care for those suffering from mental health illness. Within academic medical centers, federal hospitals and community facilities, she has planned and designed safe emergency department crisis, inpatient and outpatient facilities. Her clients have included The Johns Hopkins Hospital, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and MedStar Health.

Her work also includes surgery centers, ambulatory care centers and medical center master plans for leading healthcare providers.

Adams frequently speaks at national conferences, including the recent “Behavioral Health—Strategic Design Innovations that Improve Treatment Outcomes, Safety and the Bottom Line” and “Design for the Aging Mind—Solution for Every Setting” at the Center for Health Design in September; and the upcoming “The Future of Mental Health Inpatients: Designing for Medical/Mental Comorbidity,” with HGA colleagues Kara Freihoefer and Terri Zborowsky at the Healthcare Design Expo + Conference on Nov. 4.

Before joining HGA, Adams was a principal with SmithGroup. She has a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Toronto, Canada.