"The mission of the Academy of Architecture for Health is to improve both the quality of healthcare design and the design of healthy communities by developing, documenting, and disseminating knowledge; educating design practitioners and other related constituencies; advancing the practice of architecture; and affiliating and advocating with others that share these priorities."

Dear Members of the Academy of Architecture for Health,

I am writing to share the unfortunate news that the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) board of directors, and its parent organization the American Hospital Association (AHA), unexpectedly decided to end the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health’s (AAH) long-standing relationship of participation and sponsorship of the annual Health Care Facility Planning Design and Construction (PDC) conference. As a result, there will be no official involvement of the AIA/AAH at the ASHE PDC 2011 conference.

The surprise notification came just this last November during negotiations to continue the AAH/ASHE contract and strengthen our commitment to the ASHE PDC 2011 conference. As we discussed our next steps, the AAH leadership felt it was in the best interest of our members and organization to delay the formal announcement until we had an opportunity to talk with ASHE to determine their concerns. Such discussions did not occur, and we were left with the sole option of negotiating a clean break, including attending to all the legal matters such a decision requires. To our disappointment, efforts to negotiate a settlement failed, primarily because we could not agree with ASHE’s terms that would have limited our ability to communicate about the termination and circumstances leading up to it.

While ASHE PDC 2011 will proceed, you should be aware of some changes affecting AAH members that go beyond the absence of the AIA logo and AAH name on the conference brochure. The major changes include the following:

• There will be no AAH Forums;
• There may be AIA CEUs if ASHE gets its certification in time;
• There will be no “Academy Update” at the 2011 PDC; and
• No tours will be listed in the conference brochure, although they may be a last minute addition to the conference schedule.

Despite the current situation, the ASHE PDC 2011 still offers educational opportunities with programs presented by AAH members, and the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) masters track. We encourage you to support your AAH colleagues participating as conference presenters. They willingly share their knowledge and experience as part of their commitment to the profession.

The AIA/AAH has had a rich history of volunteerism in the PDC with many of us giving of our valuable time to advance both the AIA/AAH and the AHA/ASHE organization. While this relationship has in effect been ended by action of AHA/ASHE, it is our hope that the many other related efforts in which AAH and ASHE members are involved for the good of our professions and the healthcare industry will continue unaffected.

In fact, the AIA/AAH Board is committed to providing high-quality conference opportunities for all AAH members. For example:

• We are continuing to build our relationship with the Healthcare Design conference to develop greater opportunities for AAH member involvement and benefit;
• The Summer Leadership Summit will continue to grow in collaboration with the ACHA and the Academic Summit. The 2011 SLS will, once again, be a high level summit with some of the most advanced content of the year;
• The AAH will be co-sponsoring the International Academy of Design and Health World Congress in July in Boston;
• We are continuing the robust AIA/AAH Webinar program offered on the first Tuesday of every month (videos available on our website); and
• Through our network of Regional Champions we are working to provide increased educational and networking opportunities at the local and regional level.

It’s often the unexpected circumstances that can become a great catalyst leading us to even greater things.

To that end, I invite you to think about the value of your AIA/AAH membership. Last week, you received an e-mail from AAH member Roger Call, AIA, asking you to participate in a two-part member survey. If you’ve not already completed, I encourage you to take the short survey, and look for part two in a few weeks. Your responses will help guide us in providing the meaningful programs, conferences, and opportunities that fulfill our mission.

Sincerely,

The American Institute of Architects 1735 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20006