The AIA and the Facility Guidelines Institute have already begun the process of revising the 2001 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities. This book, one of the perennial bestsellers in the AIA Bookstore, is widely used by architects, engineers, and health-care professionals as a guideline, reference, or code.

All may submit proposed revisions and/or additions to the existing Guidelines, which are revised every four years to keep pace with new concepts and capabilities in the delivery of health care. The proposed revisions will be considered for inclusion in the 2005 Guidelines. The proposal period begins October 1 and ends December 31. Proposals must be submitted on a special form. Revisions may be submitted electronically; the required form will be available through the AIA Web page, by October 1.

Consensus process
All proposed revisions will be publicly reviewed by the multidisciplinary Guidelines Revision Committee (GRC) representing architectural, engineering, clinical, and health-care administrative expertise from the public and private sectors, including the AIA and the Facility Guidelines Institute. Operating under a consensus process, the GRC will consider each proposed revision and reject it, accept it as proposed, or accept it with modifications. The accepted proposals will be compiled into a draft document for public review and comment.

"We invite all experts to take this opportunity to implement their vision for the future of health-care design," said Joseph G. Sprague, FAIA, chair of the Guidelines Revision Committee. "If you have concerns about specific aspects of the design and construction of hospitals, nursing and other long-term care facilities, outpatient facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and psychiatric hospitals, now is the time to let them be known."

Wide-ranging influence
The Guidelines recommend minimum program, space, and equipment needs for all clinical and support areas of hospitals, nursing facilities, freestanding psychiatric facilities, outpatient and rehabilitation facilities, and long-term care facilities. The document also addresses minimum engineering design criteria for plumbing, medical, gas, electrical, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems.

The 2005 revision will pay particular attention to:
• Therapeutic environments—environment of care, green design, and sustainability
• Information technology and health-care technology and communications, including patient documentation and imaging
• Infection control, including biohazard control, handwashing, infection control risk assessments, and construction materials
• Disaster planning
• Safety and security
• Dimensional consideration, includes space planning and costs
• Energy and cost effectiveness.

More than 40 states and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations reference the Guidelines for licensure or accreditation of health-care facilities. In addition, the federal government will continue to reference the Guidelines in regulating HUD 242 loan guarantee programs and Department of Health and Human Services medical facilities.

How to submit revisions
Individuals or organizations proposing a revision or addition to the language and provisions of the 2001 edition of the Guidelines should visit the AIA Web site. (The AIA urges members of the public to make proposals via the Internet; the electronic proposal form will be available by October 1.) To request a form for submitting changes, fax a request to the AIA, 202-626-7425, or email healthcareguidelines@aia.org.

Only those proposals submitted on the form—whether electronic or in hard copy—will be accepted for consideration. No proposed revisions will be accepted after December 31.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.