Architect elected to prestigious design council
Bill Sabatini, an Albuquerque architect whose work can be seen throughout New Mexico, has been elected to a prestigious position with the American College of Healthcare Architects.
Sabatini, design principal and an original founder of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, has been elected to the group’s Council of Fellows — an award for those whose work has demonstrated a significant impact on health care building architecture.
Over his 40 years of practice, Sabatini has contributed to the design of a number of large projects in New Mexico and elsewhere, including ground-up hospitals for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Indian Health Service and DaVita Medical Group.
Sabatini will receive his award at the Healthcare Design Expo + Conference in Orlando in November.
“It’s a very distinctive skill set,” said Sabatini, reflecting on his area of specialization. “I feel very privileged to do health care work.”
He’s one of only 400 architects nationally certified by the American College of Healthcare Architects.
Keeping abreast of the trends impacting healthcare clients is important, said Sabatini. Medical construction design/engineering work, both new builds and remodels, has accounted for about 60 percent of his firm’s billings for most of the past decade, said Sabatini, who runs the health care group for the firm. The company has become a strong local employer, with more than 150 employees in the state, and it has gained a national reputation, landing on Architectural Record’s Top 300 Firms for eight consecutive years.
The passage of Obamacare has had a major impact, as has the aging of the U.S. population.
“(Enactment) of the Affordable Care Act has driven a lot of new builds,” especially with many previously uninsured New Mexicans now covered by Medicaid, Sabatini said.
And from emergency care to surgery to behavioral health, hospitals are taking a fresh approach when designing for senior patients, said Sabatini said. These include reduced-glare flooring, the training of cleaning staff to avoid over-waxing floors, more sensitive lighting, and quieter, comfortable waiting areas devoid of the blaring sounds of a television and loud cellphone conversations.
Sabatini said upgrading facilities is on the horizon as health care companies look to accommodate more technology in the care of patients and improving workflow for staff members.
Treatment spaces that integrate gardens and views for respite and access to nature are a hallmark of Sabatini’s work.
There’s all kinds of evidence that “lots of natural light and views are all factors that contribute to faster healing,” Sabatini said.