I am delighted to share the progress we have made thus far on our 2019 goal to Reinforce Connections at the very root of what we stand for—so we can remain relevant and continue to grow. We are achieving this through the following internal and external initiatives:
Reinforce Connection between Local and National
Through the AAH Advisory Group (AG), comprised of leadership from national and local AAH chapters throughout the US, we have impacted our membership by:
- Establishing a new AAH chapter in Colorado.
- AAH Board members and AG committee chair have participated in local Academy chapter meetings. These have included Chicago Healthcare KC, Houston Committee on Architecture for Health, Colorado Academy of Architecture for Health Committee’s inaugural meeting and the 10th Annual AIA AAH/SMPS Tampa Bay symposium.
- We are in the process of identifying a Next Generation leader in each of our local chapters.
Reinforce Connections with the Next Generation
The Next Gen has been successfully engaged across various AAH committees and initiatives, here are a few highlights:
- To bring a heightened perspective of next generations to the Academy’s board, AAH Next Gen Committee Chair has participated in all board meetings as a guest.
- In collaboration with AAH Code & Standards Committee, we launched #codewise, a video lecture series, focused on equipping emerging professionals with tools to navigate various regulations and codes in healthcare architecture.
- The Summer Leadership Summit (SLS) Next Gen Scholarships, offered jointly with American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) was increased from two to three this year.
- In collaboration with Center for Health Design and Emerald Exposition, we are creating a new Emerging Professionals/Student event at HCD’19 that will provide a focused opportunity for education and networking.
Reinforce Connection with Healthcare Industry
As an authoritative voice of healthcare architects to the healthcare industry and others involved in creating healthcare environments, the Academy’s Outreach Committee has:
- Made several meaningful connections this year that have already resulted or will result in joint publications, conference presentations and white papers. These include American Society of Healthcare Risk Management, Planetree, AIA Academy of Justice KC and AIA Project Delivery KC.
- Updated and/or maintained relationships with American Association of Physician Leadership, Society of Critical Care Medicine and Association of Medical Facility Professionals.
Please reach out to me should you have any thoughts or are looking for ways to make an impact through the Academy.
Sincerely,
Tushar Gupta, FAIA President, AIA Academy of Architecture for Health
aah@aia.org