“20 Who are Making a Difference” in Healthcare Design

CATHERINE MAHAN NAMED ONE OF “20 WHO ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE” IN HEALTHCARE DESIGN
December 22, 2008

Mahan Rykiel Associates (MRA), a Baltimore based landscape architectural, urban design and planning firm, is pleased to announce their President, Catherine Mahan was named one of  “20 people who are making a difference in healthcare design”, nationwide. The winners were announced in the December issue of Healthcare Design magazine and include doctors, hospital administrators, interior designers, architects and landscape architects.

Dr. JoAnn Westphal, physician and landscape architect, from Michigan State University and a winner last year, nominated Catherine. She wrote, “Catherine Mahan has initiated a post occupancy evaluation program of garden sites designed for nursing homes, extended-care facilities, and Alzheimer’s facilities to provide important data to underpin evidence-based design. These evaluations help designers develop performance standards that will ultimately make their work more effective for targeted patient audiences. Her design firm has begun to move the “art” of therapeutic site design to the “science” of therapeutic site design. This has been done at the firm’s expense as a means of improving gardens for memory-impaired patient populations. As the principal in the firm, she has provided the impetus for this type of research as a legitimate part of the firm’s practice. Catherine shares her findings unselfishly with other designers in an effort to promote sound design practices for the patients’ benefit.”

Read the article on the Healthcare Design’s website.