Becoming a member of HGA as a design researcher in 2012 after graduating with a PhD in inside design from College of Minnesota, Kara Freihoefer right now serves as director of analysis in addition to a frontrunner of HGA’s Design Perception Group, an interdisciplinary group of researchers, course of enchancment engineers, design thinkers, and knowledge analysts who work collaboratively to assist facilitate analysis and discovery and advocate for change primarily based on their findings.
In that function, Freihoefer spearheads firmwide analysis initiatives throughout all market sectors together with healthcare, working to develop new methods to observe structure and design by way of the creation and software of analysis instruments centered round empathy and curiosity. Freihoefer is a believer that the combination of analysis into every step of the design course of will result in not simply modern however knowledgeable options that finest reply consumer wants.
The success of her strategy was demonstrated previously yr by way of her work on an emergency division (ED) renovation with Trinity Well being of New England, the place Freihoefer’s efforts—from literature critiques to shadowing research to Gemba walks—taught the group learn how to not solely conduct analysis however use the outcomes to make selections.
For instance, by shadowing employees within the current house, the group was capable of apply knowledge collected to suggest onstage/offstage layouts, finally validating the schemes that improve effectivity 20 to 30 p.c. Freihoefer additionally created what’s dubbed a “core group” at HGA, composed of market leaders on the agency who try to prioritize analysis subjects into challenge work. This formalized course of ensures each a strategic and built-in strategy to analysis at HGA, leading to inside research over the previous yr on subjects corresponding to inclusive room and unit design for sufferers with bodily and psychological well being comorbidities in addition to ED preparedness for disaster occasions.
Moreover, she co-led a number of exploratory investigations on the affect of the COVID-19 pandemic on telemedicine in ambulatory care in addition to on office technique and design.
The effectiveness of Freihoefer’s contributions, together with her work at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Kentucky and SSM Well being in Wisconsin, has been acknowledged with current Environmental Design Analysis Affiliation Certification of Analysis Excellence certificates, and he or she continues to share her information industry-wide by way of revealed work and talking appearances.
What do you like most about your job?
I really like being within the challenge work, collaborating with colleagues and customers, and discovering new approaches to unravel complicated design issues.
What {industry} problem do you hope to unravel?
Information administration. Our {industry} has a lot knowledge at its fingertips, however it’s usually fragmented. By managing datasets higher, we now have the potential to search out relationships throughout completely different variables. For instance, we may discover analysis questions like how the dimensions of a affected person room (house metrics) pertains to affected person and employees security metrics corresponding to falls or work accidents (end result metrics).
Who evokes you?
I’m impressed by my colleagues and shoppers—their ardour and dedication to create designs that produce optimistic outcomes make my job as a researcher enjoyable and thrilling.
What’s the subsequent main development you anticipate for healthcare design?
Resiliency design when it comes to extremely versatile and adaptable designs that may reply seamlessly to emergency occasions, from extremely infectious ailments to pure disasters to traumatic occasions.
What did you study over the previous yr?
Nimbleness. Due to the pandemic, we weren’t capable of acquire a lot subject knowledge. We needed to learn to adapt and conduct analysis investigations otherwise and do extra with the info we already had.