Senior design strategist, Johnson & Johnson, New York
Faber’s career in healthcare design has taken her on many paths in a short period of time. During winter 2011, she interned at ZGF Architects LLP as a design researcher, collaborating on a range of projects, including UNC Hospital and National Institutes of Health genome research labs.
She continued to hone her technical and design skills, pursuing two entrepreneurial endeavors: founding Cerebella Design, a science-inspired textile business, in 2013, and consulting on digital health and education. In 2015, she joined NYU Langone Health System, serving in the inaugural role of patient experience designer. Two years later, she was selected as a fellow in the organization’s Center for Healthcare Innovation and Delivery Science, where she focused on advising and supporting research projects within the lab.
From 2016 to 2018, she led NYU Langone’s Kimmel Pavilion design sessions in patient experience, part of a strategic planning initiative for NYU’s newest hospital building, which opened in June. She delivered a project approach, progress reports, future journey maps, and operational workflows to drive operational efficiencies and create the ideal patient and family experience.
This summer, Faber joined Johnson & Johnson’s global strategic design office as a senior design strategist, where her role is to drive the design of new care-centered experiences across the company’s consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical device businesses.
Healthcare Design: What drew you to a career in healthcare design?
Faber: As a college student, I studied neuroscience and architectural studies while pursuing additional pre-medical coursework, with a plan to pursue a clinical profession. However, my early coursework in design led me to an internship at ZGF Architects, where I supported healthcare projects through conducting evidence-based design research. This was the first time I saw the direct impact that creative, technically inclined professionals outside of a traditional medical profession could have on patients and their families. One of my colleagues there empowered me to look beyond the medical profession to improve the health of communities.
What do you think is the number one issue facing healthcare designers today?
In the U.S. and globally, one of the fastest-growing demographics is that of older adults impacted by multiple chronic conditions who frequently seek care in acute settings. Not only are these people at risk for infections, falls, and delirium with longer hospital stays, they’re also at high risk for readmission. As system footprints get bigger, discrete buildings are not connecting their care offerings.
Share an idea you have for addressing or overcoming that problem.
Healthcare design can innovate home-based and integrated care models that meet the needs of those who may be best served outside the walls of traditional acute care facilities. This means imagining futures in which “hospitals” are portable, modular, and anticipatory of patients’ needs using remote monitoring, rather than requiring patients to mobilize themselves when they think they need care most. Additionally, there’s a chance to bolster spaces and services for caregivers of loved ones with complex medical issues.
What’s your favorite place to go for inspiration?
Riding public transportation, especially when I’m going somewhere new. Often, inspiration is a byproduct of my excitement for a new experience or adventure.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Designing new healthcare delivery models that increase access to care for vulnerable populations in the U.S. and abroad.
