2026 HCD Conference Webinar Series

Join Healthcare Design for this series of webinars that brings some of the most-attended sessions from the 2026 HCD Conference + Expo to your computer screen. With 100+ sessions across three days, it’s impossible to hit all the ones you’d like to see. And if you couldn’t make it to New Orleans this year, consider this your opportunity to catch up on industry trends, and earn CEUs while you do. And if you’ve never attended HCD or participated in our programming—we’re happy to have you!

Take this opportunity to get a feel for the caliber of conference programming we provide. The session lineup will be announced in late October. The live events will offer both AIA and IDCEC continuing education units.

Sessions will be held:

2 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec. 2
2 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec. 9
2 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec. 16

Week 1: December 2, 2:00 PM ET

One System, Many Campuses: The Owner’s Perspective on Balancing Standardization and Customization in Healthcare Design

As health systems grow through expansion, mergers, and redevelopment, owners are increasingly challenged to balance systemwide design standards with the need for campus-specific, project-level, and end-user customization. Standardization provides a strong foundation for efficiency, cost control, and operational consistency. It is most effective when complemented by targeted flexibility that responds to unique market, regulatory, and clinical conditions.

Planning and design leaders from AdventHealth, Novant Health, and Emory Healthcare will share candid lessons learned- what has worked, what has not, where compromise has delivered the greatest value. Panelists will discuss how systemwide design standards are established, governed, and applied across diverse campuses, and how decisions are made when standards conflict with local operational needs or clinical preferences.

The session will explore practical decision-making frameworks for evaluating when to enforce consistency, when to allow customization, and how to effectively engage clinicians, facilities leaders, and design teams in those choices. Attendees will gain owner-focused insight into best practices for developing adaptable standards, aligning design decisions with operational strategy, and avoiding common pitfalls that lead to rework, cost escalation, or stakeholder dissatisfaction. This discussion will provide actionable guidance for organizations delivering high-quality, efficient healthcare environments across multiple campuses while preserving local identity and performance.

Learning Objectives:

Explain how systemwide healthcare design standards influence patient and staff health, safety, and welfare by supporting infection prevention, life safety, accessibility, and consistent operational performance across multiple campuses.
Evaluate how decisions to customize or deviate from system standards can affect life safety, patient safety, regulatory compliance, and clinical workflow, using real-world healthcare campus examples.
Analyze owner lessons learned to identify design strategies that reduce environmental risk, rework, and operational disruption, which can negatively impact safe patient care and staff well-being.
Apply governance and stakeholder-engagement best practices to support healthcare design solutions that protect occupant safety, care quality, and functional performance while maintaining systemwide consistency.

Speakers:

Lora Schwartz, Vice President, Planning, Meadows & Ohly

Amanda Lautermilch, Senior Director, Design & Construction, Novant Health

Heather Lancaster-Dilley, VP, Project Delivery Services, Advent Health

Dan James, Director of Planning & Design, Emory Healthcare

Week 2: December 9, 2:00 PM ET

Beyond Healthcare: Designing the Future Through Cross-Industry Innovation

Healthcare environments are increasingly influenced by innovations emerging far beyond the healthcare sector. As expectations for hybrid diagnostics, digital integration, and elevated user experience grow, healthcare can gain valuable insight by examining how other industries are adapting to similar pressures. We will bring together leaders from logistics, aviation, and critical facilities to explore the trends reshaping their markets—and how these forces can inform the next generation of healthcare design.

The program will begin with short presentations highlighting key shifts and trends in each market, including safety and security practices, flow and logistics optimization, user‑centered experience design, and the integration of digital systems. Each sector offers unique perspectives on how people move, interact, and experience services across rapidly evolving physical and digital environments.

Grounding these insights, a healthcare client will present a forward‑thinking greenfield campus designed with flexibility to support changing clinical needs while advancing the organization’s broader mission. These insights will then anchor a dynamic panel discussion that aims at what ideas are able to be implemented and how it can translate into healthcare.

By drawing parallels across sectors, attendees will gain practical pathways to enhance patient experience, improve operations, and create more adaptable healthcare spaces.

Learning Objectives:

Identify key cross industry trends in logistics, aviation, hospitality, and data centers that reshape how people move, interact, and experience services—and assess how these trends can inform healthcare design and operations.
Evaluate strategies for safety and security, user-centered experiences and operational optimization into healthcare environments, drawing parallels from industries that have successfully merged virtual and physical service delivery.
Apply interdisciplinary insights to real healthcare challenges by examining a forward-thinking greenfield campus example and translating cross industry innovations into actionable approaches.
Improve patient experience, staff workflow, and long-term adaptability across physical and digital environments.

Speakers:

Dave Kistel, VP & Chief Facilities Executive, Lee Health

Tatiana Guimaraes, Healthcare Practice Leader, Gensler

W. Scottie MacQueen, Mission Critical Market Leader, Gensler

Eddie Egea, Founder, CEO, eg3a

Week 3: December 16, 2:00 PM ET

Codes in Context: Understanding the Regulatory Landscape in Healthcare Facility Design

Healthcare 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.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the purpose, structure, and intent of the health care regulatory environment.
Explain how the FGI Codes/Guidelines interact with other codes and standards during planning and design.
Summarize the historical impact of the FGI Codes/Guidelines on the national approach to health care facility design.
Apply a structured approach for interpreting, documenting, and communicating FGI Codes/Guidelines requirements across multidisciplinary teams.

Speakers:

Tina Duncan, AIA, CBO, ACHA, Director of Code and Regulations, HKS

John Williams, CBO, Vice President, Facility Guidelines Institute

Sessions at a Glance

Sign up today!
Register now for all sessions using the form below!

Sessions at a Glance

Sign up today!Register now for all sessions using the form below!

Sign up today!
Register now for all sessions using the form below!