At One Workplace, we believe the spaces we create have the power to shape outcomes—not only for individual patients but for entire communities. That belief was front and center during our recent panel event, Designing for Health Equity: Cultivating Belonging, where we gathered leading voices across design, research, healthcare systems, and patient advocacy to explore what it truly means to build environments rooted in dignity, access, and inclusion.
Moderated by Donald Cremers, Senior Principal and Interior Designer at HOK, the conversation featured four extraordinary panelists: Ysabel Duron, veteran journalist and founder of The Latino Cancer Institute; Terri Zborowsky, former RN and healthcare design researcher with HGA; Lauren Cole, Director of Design Strategy at Providence St. Joseph Health; and Tina Giorgadze, Design Principal at Perkins & Will. Together, they unpacked the deeply layered nature of health equity—from systemic inequities to design choices as small as paint colors and as vast as policy reform.
From Access to Belonging: Reframing Health Equity
The discussion began with a grounding question: What does belonging look or feel like in a healthcare environment? Ysabel Duron, drawing on decades as both a journalist and patient advocate, offered a clear answer: respect.
“You have to respect the patient,” she said. “Too often, healthcare environments are cold and exclusive. Equity means feeling seen, heard, and supported—regardless of socioeconomic standing”.
Duron challenged the audience to elevate care for marginalized communities: “We should all be treated like celebrities. I call it concierge care for poor people.” Her point was simple but profound—equity isn't about doing more for some, it's about delivering excellence for everyone.
Terri Zborowsky echoed this ethos, inviting the room into a brief meditation: “Close your eyes. Picture a place where you feel like you belong. What does it smell like? What does it sound like?” As audience members shared words like safety, family, calm, and being recognized, she reflected, “Design has the power to communicate all of this. But first, we have to ask the right questions of the communities we serve.”
Design Isn’t Neutral—It’s a System
Lauren Cole brought a critical systems perspective: “A system works exactly the way it was designed to work. If our healthcare system is inequitable, that was by design.” She highlighted how equity must start with access—and sometimes, that means starting small.
“Some of the most impactful projects I’ve worked on aren’t the flashy new MOBs,” she explained. “They’re the clinics opening in rural strip malls—places that serve people who have never had access to primary care before. The kind of spaces where we’re debating whether we can afford to paint the waiting room.”
Cole underscored the need to rethink even the most basic aspects of the patient experience: signage, wayfinding, and communication. “We surveyed over 150,000 emergency department patients,” she said. “One of the top complaints was, ‘I don’t know where to go when I walk in the door.’ It’s not just intimidating—it’s exclusionary."
Tina Giorgadze added that poorly designed environments, whether sterile or over-opulent, can alienate patients. “A space that looks expensive can feel just as excluding as one that’s institutional,” she said. “People walk in and think, ‘I can’t afford care here.’” She also warned against tokenism in design. “Incorporating a cultural motif without deep context can feel performative. The real work is finding shared stories and emotional connections that reflect the community’s values”.
Listening Is the First Design Tool
All four panelists emphasized the importance of authentic, ongoing community engagement. “Too often, we make assumptions instead of doing the work,” said Giorgadze, recounting a seven-year project in South LA where Kaiser Permanente integrated healthcare services into an existing community center. “We held over 100 community meetings. Every choice—from paint color to building massing—was shaped by local voices.”
Terri Zborowsky shared strategies for reaching historically excluded groups, including showing up at community events and offering stipends or gift cards to thank residents for their time. “When we ask people to share their lived experience, we have to compensate them. It’s a sign of respect,” she said.
Ysabel Duron agreed, underscoring how trust is built through consistent, visible effort. “If you invite the community into the process, you’ll get better design, better engagement, and better health outcomes,” she said. “And when they’re proud of the space, they’ll bring their comadres and compadres with them.”
Expanding the Scope: Equity Beyond the Clinic Walls
Panelists also pushed the audience to recognize the structural forces that impact health outcomes long before a patient enters a clinic. “Disease doesn’t start at the hospital door,” Duron reminded us. “We need to bridge systems and communities—bringing care into neighborhoods and addressing upstream environmental hazards.”
Terry Zborowsky noted that every hospital is required to produce a Community Health Needs Assessment and encouraged designers to dig into these resources. “There are ways to find out what the community really needs,” she said. “And if you can’t find it in a report, go have coffee in the neighborhood. Just listen.”
Lauren Cole reminded us that even the most sophisticated design standards must evolve to include patient voices. “Don’t throw away that patient survey,” she said. “Someone is reading it. And sometimes, small fixes—like warming up the waiting room or offering a place to lie down—make the biggest difference.”
Closing Thoughts: Start Where You Are
The conversation closed with a collective call to action:
Designing for equity means designing with intention—and with heart.
We’re deeply grateful to our panelists and to everyone who joined us for this powerful, honest, and hopeful conversation. As designers, architects, and builders, we have the tools to shape environments—but it’s our responsibility to ensure those environments are inclusive, supportive, and truly equitable for all.
Let’s keep the conversation going—and the action growing.
