Designing Care On-Air

In this episode of Designing Care On-Air, we’re joined by Alex and Bri, both two-time cancer survivors, as they reflect on what it felt like to navigate cancer at an age when they were often told, “You’re too young to be here.” Together, we explore the unique needs of AYA cancer patients, the search for community and belonging, and the ways healthcare environments can either deepen isolation or help hold hope. This is a conversation about survivorship, design, and the radical importance of giving young people facing cancer permission to still imagine a life ahead.

Climate change is no longer a background condition; it is actively shaping patient outcomes, workforce resilience, and the environments where care is delivered. In this episode of Designing Care On-Air, we speak with Grace Kistner about why climate health is a frontline healthcare issue and how nurses are uniquely positioned to lead advocacy and systems change. From translating climate data into clinical realities to influencing policy, design, and organizational decision-making, this conversation centers advocacy as a professional responsibility and a powerful lever for transformation. Whether you work in healthcare, design, or policy, this episode challenges you to move beyond awareness and into action. Protecting and championing good health means advocating for the environments that sustain it.

This episode explores legacy mapping, risk-taking, and the lessons we borrow from those who came before us to shape the future of healthcare design. A reflective conversation with changemakers on courage, continuity, and lighting the path forward for the industry.

Join architect and mental & behavioral health planner Stephen Parker as we explore trauma-informed design, crisis center planning, and policy that supports mental health across generations. Stephen offers insights on peer support integration, reimbursement strategies, and the cultural influences shaping responsive spaces. Whether you're a planner, provider, or policy advocate, this conversation reveals how thoughtful architecture can create orientation in patient journey, foster community healing, and inspire the next generation of designers.

Two-step into the heart of Texas with Jessica Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Senior Executive Director of Clinical Facilities at University of Texas Health San Antonio, as she shares how her journey as a mother to a child with congenital heart disease shapes her bold vision for healthcare spaces. In this episode of Designing Care On-Air, Jessica opens up about balancing cutting-edge design with deeply human experiences by crafting environments that heal, connect, and transform care for patients and their families.

Christina Olivarria and Jhiah Chang unpack the high-pressure work of orchestrating over 100 projects in just 18 months on a busy academic medical center campus. They’ll reveal the pitfalls that nearly derailed progress, how staff-centric strategies turned resistance into collaboration, and the creative space modifications (yes, even furniture hacks) that kept care flowing while construction loomed. If you think enabling projects are just a logistical checkbox, think again. Learn how thoughtful planning, staff-focused strategies, and streamlined communication can turn logistical hurdles into opportunities for innovation.

With a catchment area spanning all of Vermont and northern New York, the University of Vermont Cancer Center is a success story in high impact, quality care across research, education, and clinical pillars of their mission. Drs. Jessica Heath and Christa Varnadoe share their complementary perspectives on the renown organizational responsiveness to community-identified needs – including cutting-edge therapies – across a cultural duality of rural and micropolitan populations.

Renown Health's Samantha Koblitz reflects on the importance of trusted partners during shifts in design approach and decision-making with Interface's Leslie Echols and Perkins&Will's Nicki Hellem and Holly Ewing. By giving users and leadership hands-on participatory roles in flooring selection, Renown Health was afforded deeper insights into their culture while promoting creativity in their steadfast commitment to the communities they serve. 

Dr. Richard Kyte, Director of the D. B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership and Endowed Professor of Ethics at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, approaches the concept of ‘Third Place’ from the lenses of leadership and ethics.

As the expert coordinators of a successful surgery, the circulating nurse role is one of the most pivotal to include in operating room design. Shilpa Bhardwaj shares her doctoral research centering and her insights on inclusivity, representation, and advocacy during the design process of high-stress environments.

Francis encourages designers to consider relationship over form as we enmesh evidence and lived experience to design spaces for mental health that promote connection, contemplation, and skillbuilding.

Joey Shea of Interface shares his perceptions on the role of communities in conscious decision-making during the design life-cycle and tips to stretch purchasing power into sustainable, future-forward growth of healthcare systems.  

Along the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain West, hospitals have constructed parking lots for campers for equitable healthcare access. Ruth Tretter, Assistant Professor at the Mark & Robyn Jones College of Nursing – Montana State University shares her experiences and the science behind this ever-growing population seeking care.

Violence against nurses in particular has risen over 70% in the last couple years. Kelsey Springer, RN, shares her experience and call to action for design changes that can save lives of healthcare staff.

Through universal rail systems, Paladin Healthcare’s Gary Schindele provides insight on how to transform spaces from rigid and rundown to regenerative and renewed.

As healthcare becomes more technologically complex, it’s time for designers to plug into best practices when tackling Division 25 with Will Maxwell of Smith Seckman Reid, Inc.

With more children and youth requiring mental health services in community settings, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner Samantha Reed gives a firsthand account of considerations necessary in the built environment to heal with hope.

 How might design and space planning support effective communication during the complex process of patient rounds? Swati Goel shares her research and recommendations 

Amanda Stone is a Doctorate of Nursing Practice student at Montana State University who competed in the PDC Summit Student Challenge in 2023. The challenge, a 48-hour charrette, challenged interdisciplinary student teams comprised of architects, engineers, and nurses to design and model a wellness facility for clinical nurses in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. Amanda shares her experience during this heated competition and key takeaways as a rurally-based nurse developing her advanced practice and leadership. 

Bernadette McCrory is an Assistant Professor at the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering- Montana State University. In this episode, Dr. McCrory describes the BioReD Hub for rural healthcare research innovation and the fresh approach to biomedical engineering education that will move mountains in solutioning for Montana’s healthcare delivery crisis. 

Margaret Hammersla is an Assistant Professor at the Mark & Robyn Jones College of Nursing- Montana State University. As an adult nurse practitioner, Margaret shares her experiences advocating for rural and frontier residents when home-based care is warranted while sharing recommendations for optimizing care delivery in resource-tight environments. 

Marjorie Serrano is an architect and clinical consultant with a background as a pediatric nurse practitioner. In this episode, Marjorie shares her passion for advancing diversity in design teams through education, awareness, and learning to ask the right questions. 

With over 30 years in nursing and executive leadership roles, Kristina Krail has built a career being at the forefront of optimizing human performance in healthcare systems design. A design industry healthcare consultant, Kristina shares pearls of wisdom on moving the needle in high-impact project management. 

Julie Dumser is a senior manager in healthcare consulting. As a nurse, Julie saw early on in her career the impact that the built environment had on patient outcomes and efficiency of care delivery. In this episode, Julie shares how including clinical voice early and often in the design process provides long-lasting benefits to the heroes save lives in those environments every day. 

Designing Care On-Air invites listeners to deconstruct the healthcare environments that influence our quest for wellness. Architects, engineers, interior designers, and providers share their powerful insights and perspectives on how healthcare facilities and the systems they held within affect our daily lives. Deepen your curiosity about the framework of our systems of healthcare with host Elizabeth Johnson, an Assistant Professor at the Montana State University Mark & Robyn Jones College of Nursing.