Meet the Chair: Academy of Architecture for Health Knowledge Community


Associate Principal, TreanorHL

Mike Hagan, AIA

What’s happening in the healthcare industry? It’s no simple task of staying apprised for the Academy of Architecture for Health Knowledge Community, chaired by Mike Hagan, AIA. We caught up with Hagan to learn the latest happening in the knowledge community and the ever-changing healthcare industry.

How did you come to chair this committee?

My initial involvement with the new committee immediately generated much excitement, thanks to the great key members involved. The steering committee members helped encouraged me to maintain a high-level of commitment to help the organization succeed from its infancy and suggested a chair role for the 2021 year, which I was grateful to accept and embrace.

What drew you to this group initially?
With a passion for healthcare design and construction, this organization piqued immediate interest for “sharing health knowledge” within the community.

How has this committee grown or changed since you initially got involved?
The committee continues to grow with numbers of participants and thanks to the dedicated steering committee members from various local design firms. Diversity of knowledge continues to be strong. The committee has also become more structured in the recent year with defined roles and responsibilities for each steering committee member.

What are some of the accomplishments this year you are most proud of?
I am most proud of the committees success this year during very unique times of the continued virtual setting. Despite the challenges of not being in person, the group has maintained focus and a result had many successful events with participation continuing to increase.

What are some immediate and long-term plans we can hope to see from the committee?
The committee will continue to actively provide knowledge sharing opportunities though events and partnerships with other organizations. In the future, we hope with the growth of members and participants the knowledge will extend beyond architects to other important members in the healthcare community.

What one thing do you wish the membership and profession at large knew about this topic or what your committee is doing?
The committee is not only full of knowledge, but also—and most importantly—we are resources.

About the Author

Alisa Rice

Alisa Rice, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, LSSWB, is a Senior Associate, Senior Healthcare Planner, Project Manager and Architect at Hord Coplan Macht, in Denver, Colorado.

She has more than 25 years of experience focusing on healthcare planning and design. Rice's ability to listen and collaborate complements her passion for healthcare design, allowing her to create efficient and healing environments for patients, family, and staff. She is skilled at building strong client relationships and working with user groups to develop a comprehensive understanding of program requirements, medical planning concepts, and solutions to fit each clients’ unique project needs. As a healthcare architect with 30 years of professional experience, she seamlessly leads teams and accurately produces a variety of inpatient and outpatient healthcare facilities ranging from replacement hospitals to renovations during predesign through building occupancy.

Rice is also the AIA Colorado 2021 Editorial Committee Representative for the Academy of Architecture for Health Steering Committee.

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