Doug Erickson Awarded FGI Pioneer Award

FLORENCE, MA. – Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) is proud to announce that Douglas S. Erickson, FASHE, is a recipient of the FGI Pioneer Award. Doug was presented the award on April 24, 2024, by Tina Duncan, ACHA, AIA, CBO, president of the FGI Board of Directors, at the annual meeting of the Health Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC) in San Diego.

“It would be impossible to overstate the breadth of Doug’s influence on the health and residential care built environment. During his 45 years working on the Guidelines for Design and Construction documents, he has inspired thousands of volunteers,” says Heather Livingston, FGI CEO. “Through his leadership, these individuals have improved the functional use of the Guidelines, resulting in safer and more efficient health care facilities. Every person who accesses health care feels the impact of his extraordinary passion.”

Doug began working on what we now know as the Guidelines documents in 1978 when he worked for The Joint Commission. In the 1980s, Doug assumed a leadership role after the federal government divested itself of the original Minimum Requirements for hospital design. Recognizing the importance of these documents, Doug, along with J. Armand Burgun, FAIA, FACHA and Joseph G. Sprague, FAIA, FACHA, FHFI, testified before the U.S. Congress in 1984 to obtain permission to take over the revision process for the Minimum Requirements and secure financial support from the U.S. Public Health Service. Their success led to the formation of the HGRC, the multidisciplinary group of federal, state, and private-sector experts tasked with overseeing revisions to the Guidelines documents.

In 1998, seeing the necessity for a dedicated organization to consistently update the Guidelines, Doug, Armand, and Joe cofounded FGI as an independent, not-for-profit entity. FGI took on the responsibility of maintaining and revising the Guidelines through a formal consensus-based process. Since then, the Guidelines, under the stewardship of FGI, have been meticulously reviewed and revised on a regular cycle to reflect the ever-changing landscape of health care delivery, technology, and regulatory requirements.

Doug’s leadership has been instrumental in guiding the next generation of design and construction of safe, effective, and innovative health care facilities. He served as vice chair and later chair of the HGRC for five revision cycles, resulting in the 2001, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 editions of the Guidelines.From FGI’s inception until 2023, Doug was an active member of the Board of Directors and served as FGI CEO from 2015 to 2023.

“Doug’s leadership style encouraged innovative thinking and adaptability among volunteers and FGI staff,” says John Williams, chair of the HGRC. “The result is comprehensive documents and a sustainable organization that supports the design and construction of safe and effective health and residential care and support facilities.”

To honor Doug’s enduring contributions to the Guidelines, FGI established the Douglas S. Erickson Health Care Research Award in partnership with The Center for Health Design. This award is dedicated to funding research in advancing the design of health care and residential care environments that better support patients and health care professionals. More information about the award and application process will be announced soon.

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About the FGI Pioneer Award

The Pioneer Award of the Facility Guidelines Institute honors select individuals and organizations of outstanding character who influence or create the future of health and residential care facility design and construction through their contributions and support of the mission and vision of FGI. Previous Pioneer Award winners are J. Armand Burgun, FAIA, FACHA; Robert Mayer, PhD; Roger W. Gehrke; James R. (Skip) Gregory, NCARB; Rebecca J. Lewis, FAIA, FACHA, CID; Jane M. Rohde, AIA, FIIDA, ASID, ACHA, CHID; Judith A. Smith, MHA; Pamela James Blumgart; Charles S. Maggio, AIA, NCARB; and Ellen Taylor, PhD, AIA, MBA, EDAC.

About the Facility Guidelines Institute

Founded in 1998, the Facility Guidelines Institute is a not-for-profit corporation founded to provide leadership and continuity to the Guidelines/FGI Facility Code revision process. FGI functions as the coordinating entity for development of the Guidelines/FGI Facility Code documents using a multidisciplinary, consensus-based process and for provision of ancillary services that encourage and improve their application and use.

About the FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction/FGI Facility Code Documents

The FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction/FGI Facility Code documents are updated every four years to keep pace with new concepts, capabilities, and technologies in the delivery of health and residential care. The Guidelines/FGI Facility Code documents are used by states, through adoption by reference, to regulate health and residential care facility design and construction. FGI relies on revenue from sales of the documents to fund research and the activities of the HGRC for the next revision cycle. The Guidelines/FGI Facility Code documents are protected by copyright and authorized licenses and paperbacks are available exclusively at https://shop.fgiguidelines.org.

FGI Press Release Doug Erickson Pioneer Award