{"id":7026146,"date":"2026-08-04T03:12:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/rebecca-casey-new-director-of-health-wellness-practice-at-smrt-on-the-next-era-of-human-centered-design\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T03:12:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:12:27","slug":"rebecca-casey-new-director-of-health-wellness-practice-at-smrt-on-the-next-era-of-human-centered-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7026146","title":{"rendered":"Rebecca Casey, New Director of Health & Wellness Practice at SMRT, On the Next Era of Human-Centered Design\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SMRT Architects & Engineers designed major healthcare facilities for MaineGeneral Health in Augusta, Maine. | Photo Credit: Anton Grassl\/Esto<\/span><\/h5>\n

By Lindsey Coulter<\/span><\/p>\n

SMRT Architects & Engineers recently announced Principal Rebecca Casey, AIA, as Director of its Health & Wellness Practice, expanding the firm\u2019s focus beyond traditional clinical spaces to address the rapidly growing demand for holistic, community-wide health and well-being in the built environment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rebecca Casey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Casey brings more than 20 years of dedicated healthcare architecture experience\u00a0spanning\u00a0complex acute care, ambulatory care, behavioral health\u00a0facilities\u00a0and specialized environments for aging across the Northeast.\u00a0A champion of\u00a0rigorous, human-centered approaches\u00a0grounded in clinical\u00a0processes,\u00a0Casey analyzes\u00a0how spatial design directly\u00a0impacts\u00a0patient outcomes, staff\u00a0retention\u00a0and community wellness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now leading\u00a0a multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers, and planners,\u00a0Casey\u00a0will focus on emerging market needs, particularly the integration of behavioral health services and the rising demand for wellness-focused community and institutional spaces.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThis practice has remarkable depth, built on decades of deep client partnerships and a shared belief that design has the power to heal,\u201d said Casey. \u201cAs we look ahead, our challenge and opportunity\u00a0is\u00a0to expand how we define health in the built environment. I am honored to lead this incredibly talented team as we continue to design spaces that support caregivers, comfort families, and promote healthier communities.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

HCO:\u00a0SMRT has renamed the practice \u201cHealth & Wellness\u201d rather than simply \u201cHealthcare.\u201d What does that change in terminology signal about where the industry is headed, and how should healthcare organizations be thinking differently about future capital investments?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Casey:\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0a strong proponent of population health, of getting further upstream in care. Over the past 10-15 years, the broad adoption of the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) framework has deepened our understanding of how\u00a0much\u00a0contributes to wellbeing, beyond the absence of medical conditions. One of SMRT\u2019s core values\u00a0is that\u00a0we design with purpose.\u00a0 For us, that means applying a values-based, evidence-supported design process across the full continuum of care, not only for patients, but also for the providers, staff, and families who share that space.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

HCO:\u00a0You have said that design should support caregivers, comfort families, and promote healthier communities. How do you translate those goals into specific architectural decisions during the planning and design process?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Casey:\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0a strong, growing body of research on how the built environment affects the health of everyone in it, not just patients. Evidence-based design is central to translating that research into practice, and I start from an upstream mindset.\u00a0WELL\u00a0is my go-to framework:\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0a WELL AP and WELL Faculty, and I recommend it both as a catalog of evidence organized by impact area and as a set of design criteria for measurable outcomes. A few parameters have become standard on\u00a0nearly every\u00a0project:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n