Whitney Fuessel
Partner| Regional Practice Director, HealthHKSWhitney is a Partner and Regional Practice Director for Health in the South-Central Region for HKS, with over 25 years of experience in health, focusing on the experience of humans in the built environment. Her fresh ideas draw from her team of designers and planners working on academic health projects creating a collaborative balanced approach. A few career highlights include receiving the 2017 received the AIA Presidential Citation, 2024 Woman of Impact for Go Red for Women, and currently serving on the Dean's Advisory Board for Texas A&M School of Architecture.
R03 – Shielding the Frontline: 9 Health Systems, 5 Principles, and the Future of Staff Safety
Healthcare workplace violence has evolved from a safety concern into a national crisis and a fundamental design imperative. High-profile incidents, su…Healthcare workplace violence has evolved from a safety concern into a national crisis and a fundamental design imperative. High-profile incidents, such as the lethal shooting at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and the staggering 30,…Healthcare workplace violence has evolved from a safety concern into a national crisis and a fundamental design imperative. High-profile incidents, such as the lethal shooting at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and the staggering 30,000 weapons confiscated annually at Cleveland Clinic, underscore the severity of the threat. With 33% of nurses contemplating leaving the profession due to victimization, addressing workplace safety i…Healthcare workplace violence has evolved from a safety concern into a national crisis and a fundamental design imperative. High-profile incidents, such as the lethal shooting at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and the staggering 30,000 weapons confiscated annually at Cleveland Clinic, underscore the severity of the threat. With 33% of nurses contemplating leaving the profession due to victimization, addressing workplace safety is essential for both workforce retention and the delivery of patient care. This roundtable introduces a multidisciplinary framework for violence mitigation rooted in the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Our research draws from C-suite interviews conducted across nine health systems to determine how physical space influences behavioral outcomes. We analyzed how the five core tenets of CPTED: access control, natural surveillance, territorial reinforcement, social management, and maintenance, can be strategically deployed at four scales (campus, building, unit and room level) to shield caregivers in high-stakes environments. This session invites attendees to participate in a collaborative design ideation. Utilizing a safety checklist derived from our multi-system study, participants will audit floor plans, propose environmental modifications to enhance safety, and engage in a cross-pollination of ideas between clinicians, architects, and administrators to bridge the gap between safety policy and spatial reality.Show MoreClick the title to see all detailsShow More
