Episode 76, Elizabeth Sullivan, Principal, Regional Co-Leader of Healthcare, Northeast HOK

About this episode

Elizabeth Sullivan discusses her journey into healthcare architecture and the evolving landscape of humane healthcare environments.

"Everything is shifting at once — our care models, technology, AI, capital pressures, workforce dynamics." — Elizabeth Sullivan on HID2.0 In this episode of Healthcare Interior Design 2.0, Cheryl Janis sits down with Elizabeth Sullivan, Principal and Regional Co-Leader of Healthcare Northeast at HOK and adjunct professor at The New York School of Interior Design for a deeply thoughtful conversation about healthcare architecture, lived experience, mentorship, and the future of humane healthcare environments. Elizabeth shares how she went from thinking healthcare architecture sounded "boring" to discovering that it is one of the most meaningful, complex, and human-centered areas of design. With experience spanning architectural practice, the owner side, teaching, and her own personal experiences as a patient, Elizabeth brings a rare and powerful lens to what healthcare spaces are — and what they still need to become. Together, Cheryl and Elizabeth explore the next wave of healthcare design, the importance of flexibility and adaptability, the emotional weight of hospitals, the role of respite spaces, and why small details — even the chair in a patient room — can have an enormous…

People in this episode

Host: Cheryl Janis

Guest: Elizabeth Sullivan

Topics covered

• healthcare architecture
• design
• mentorship
• human-centered design
• flexibility in healthcare spaces
• patient experience

Keywords

• healthcare design
• architecture
• patient experience
• emotional impact
• respite spaces
• flexibility
• mentorship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HOK, The New York School of Interior Design

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