E47 – Healthcare as Community Infrastructure: How AAH Design Excellence Measures Impact Beyond Care

Health care facility design teams frequently struggle to understand where the FGI Codes/Guidelines fit within the broader regulatory ecosystem and how to apply them appropriately alongside other codes and standards. This session provides a clear, practical explanation of the role the FGI Codes/Guidelines play in shaping safe, compliant health care environments, including how they are adopted, interpreted, and used by Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs).

Participants will gain brief historical context on the development of the FGI Codes/Guidelines and examine their influence on health care facility design over the past seven decades. The session will clarify key distinctions between guidelines, codes, and standards; explore how regulatory intent influences design decisions; and identify common misapplications that create confusion or compliance risk.

Using real‑world examples and scenario‑based discussion, attendees will learn a structured approach for interpreting, documenting, and communicating FGI Codes/Guidelines requirements throughout planning, design, and project review. Participants will leave better equipped with owners and regulators and to navigate regulatory landscapes with confidence and clarity.

As healthcare design advances beyond minimizing harm, sustainability is evolving toward a holistic and systems-based, regenerative design approach. This session will introduce regenerative design as a framework that aligns with healthcare’s core mission to “do no harm” while actively supporting both human and ecological well-being.  Through case studies, the presenters will explore the varying impacts of regenerative design – for people, place, and buildings – to examine how healthcare campuses can position themselves as active contributors to resilient, thriving environments.

As healthcare institutions increasingly face pressures around financial investment, patient well-being, and staff retention, this session will present scalable strategies to guide planning, design, and investment decisions around holistic well-being. Grounded in biophilic principles, the speakers will examine the measurable benefits of nature-connected design on patient healing, staff wellness, and community health. This session will also highlight performance metrics used to evaluate regenerative outcomes and demonstrate how design strategies such as biodiversity enhancement, adaptive reuse, context-based campus planning, and strengthened community connections can contribute to long-term resilience.

Attendees will learn how to integrate regenerative thinking into healthcare planning and design across multiple scales, from buildings to campuses and communities, while considering  long-term adaptability to climate and environmental change.