The Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing
It is one of the 55 South Carolina Centers of Economic Excellence (SC CoEE) for a multi-disciplinary approach to solving problems in the health and design fields. The Health Facilities Design and Testing Center is using interdisciplinary design research to improve health care environments through better architecture and building design. Research at this Center focuses on two main areas: how the design of health care facilities affects the delivery of health care and how to create architectural settings that better serve the health and well-being of patients and staff. Researchers at this Center study the relationship between the physical healthcare environment and clinical outcomes; population health outcomes; patient, family and staff satisfaction; operational efficiency; and the ability to accommodate change. The Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing supports two endowed chairs – the endowed chair in Architecture + Health Design and Research at Clemson University and the Endowed Chair in Healthcare Human Factors Research and Practice at the Medical University of South Carolina. As the SmartState Endowed Chair in Architecture + Health Design and Research, Dr. Anjali Joseph serves as the Director for the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing.
Open Positions
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Fully Funded Ph.D. Positions - Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing
Ph.D. IN DESIGN AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
We are hiring 2 Fully Funded Ph.D. positions (4-years) within the Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing.
Positions start in Fall 2025.
Students will be part of the Built Environment and Health concentration within the Design and the Built Environment Doctoral Program in the School of Architecture at Clemson University, Clemson, SC.
Download the Flyer
DESIGN AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
The Ph.D. program in Design and the Built Environment focuses on preparing the next generation of academics and professionals for diverse and complex challenges of an interdisciplinary nature. The program’s core disciplines are the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning. The program’s theoretical and methodological underpinnings explore emerging issues in the built environment, connecting students with real-world case study applications.
PROGRAM TRACKS
- Masters to PhD (~4 years)
- Bachelors to PhD (~5 years)
- Hybrid PhD for full-time professionals
BUILT ENVIRONMENT + HEALTH
CHFDT Areas of Focus
- Designing for patient safety, staff safety and well-being
- Simulation based approaches to healthcare facility design
- Design for patient and staff experience
- Intelligent healthcare environments
CENTER FOR HEALTH FACILITIES DESIGN AND TESTING
OUR PURPOSE
The Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing (CHFDT) is using interdisciplinary design research to improve healthcare environments through better architecture and building design. Research at this Center focuses on two main areas: how the design of healthcare facilities affects the delivery of healthcare and how to create architectural settings that better serve the health and well-being of patients and staff.
OUR TEAM
The CHFDT team is a vibrant community of faculty, staff, PhD and Master’s students. We work collaboratively in teams on grant-funded projects to address challenging issues at the intersection of healthcare facility design and patient and staff outcomes. Our work is grounded in practice and we develop practical solutions through iterative prototyping and evaluation.
GRANT FUNDED PROJECTS
Realizing Improved Patient Care through Human-Centered Design for Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health in the Emergency Department (RIPCHD.PED)
This multi-year grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supports the development pediatric care environments in the ED that promote safe, efficient and effective care by minimizing unnecessary stressors for patients while also improving provider well-being.
Indiana University Health Design Project
The project seeks to design patient rooms for IU Health that better meet the needs of and improve safety for both patients and staff. IU Health is the largest network of physicians in the state of Indiana, offering a unique partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine, one of the nation’s leading medical schools.
Realizing Improved Patient Care through Human Centered Design in the OR (RIPCHD.OR)
The purpose of the multidisciplinary collaborative RIPCHD.OR project is to develop ergonomic and safe operating room designs that help improve patient safety outcomes such as surgical site infections and medical errors.
CONTACT US
Please email Dr. Joseph with any questions you may have regarding the program or the CHFDT research projects at anjalij@clemson.edu
VISIT US
To learn more about the CHFDT, our current projects, and student work, visit us at: http://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/health-facilities-design-testing
